What Do I Mean to You?
by tinkertot95
Summary: "Friendship that is almost as thick as blood is the hardest bond to break...right?" PaulXOC
1. Chapter 1

_ Welcome! I'm very excited to present to you my story! Just to get straight to it, I don't own Twilight, nor Almost, Maine (which belongs to John Cariani). So...yeah this is an awkward introduction. I really hope you enjoy my story. If you review, which I hope you do, I would really like constructive criticism. Thank you so much! This first chapter is a little short because I didn't really know what else to put. I'm going to try for longer chapters in the future. Enjoy!_

Quil and Jacob stare at my devastated look as I watch Embry's retreating form. My face works through maybe eight different emotions before it settles on one in particular, rage.

"Embry Ryan Mother Fuckin' Call! Don't you dare walk away from me when I'm yelling at you!" I scream, walking forward. "All I want to know is why the hell you think you have to leave your best friends! Who the hell do you think you are!" I yell, struggling to find words. He turns around and looks at me. He sizes me up, and then his eyes soften. "You know what?" I ask, laughing humorlessly. "I'm leaving. I'll be in Seattle for the next few days. You know my number if you feel like being a true friend. So fuck you, and have a horrible day." I say turning on my heel and walking towards Jacob's car. I get into the backseat of the Rabbit and wait for my friends. The only two I have left. Jacob climbs into the driver seat all the while Quil climbs into the backseat with me. Jake starts the car and drives away, that's when I let myself fall apart. Quil, who's quiet and not annoying for once, just hugs me and lets me cry on his shoulder. I don't even realize when Jake stops and gets out of the car. A few minutes later I hear the trunk open and then it closes again.

"We're going with you." Jake says, looking at me in the rear view mirror. I know I must look like a mess. The three of them have only ever seen me cry one other time. It was when my dad died. That thought brings on a new wave of tears and I cling to my make-shift teddy bear tighter. I don't even pay attention as Jake makes the proper arrangements. Seattle, that's where our drama club is taking a show to the state competition. Jake, Quil and the unmentionable are only in drama club because I made them come with me when I joined freshman year. We always used to do everything together. It's always been the four of us. We've been through everything together, and the thought of how they're being for me here now makes even more tears come to my eyes.

"Damn it." I say through my teeth into Quil's shoulder. "All I have to say is that this better be enough emotion for Tim."

"You're going to be perfect Maria." Quil says, rubbing soothing circles on my back. I give him a weird look. "You're right Maria sounds weird, you're more of a Mar-Mar." He says, gaining my respect back. They haven't called me by my full name, conversationally, since ever. Maria Lillian Clark is my given name. Affectionately shortened to Mar-Mar in the sandbox days of our youth.

"I just...I don't know what his deal is." Jake says, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He keeps his eyes on the road as he gets on the highway. I then realize we're joining our fellow thespians in Seattle. Originally we were all going together, but then Jake became obsessed with that Bella chick and Quil...he was just lazy. Then Embry started being a jackass, so they decided they weren't going. We've got rooms reserved at the hotel though. One for the guys then, by request, I have one to myself. Since we're (really I'm) paying for it, the director really doesn't care. Anyway, Jake and Quil apparently have changed their minds.

"Do you need to call your girlfriend?" I ask, knowing I sound bitter and sullen. "Sorry, I'm just not a fan of people playing games." Directly linking it back to Embry. Right now, I could probably find a probable reason as to why world hunger is his fault. Abandonment is a big issue with me...and he knows it. I've been accused of being in love with Embry, but right now I'm too upset to even deny it. Right now I feel like stabbing something.

"It's fine Mar-Mar, why don't you try and get some sleep?" Jake says with a sigh, knowing how I get. Sometimes it's weird how well these boys know me. They annoy the crap out of me, they tick me off beyond belief, but in the end they always know exactly what I need to hear. Jake is especially good with knowing what to say to me. He's gentle...it's easy to see why anyone who's hurt would drift to him. He's so undeniably good.

"I love you guys." I say, a fresh wave of tears coming on. Quil wipes them away, raising his eyebrow at me.

"You're not drunk, so quit sounding like it...weirdo." He says flicking my nose. I roll my eyes and take the blanket I keep in the back of the Rabbit and cover myself in it before making Quil into my pillow. "Everything will be okay."

"You just...you don't pay attention anymore. You go somewhere, and I don't know where you go, but you go somewhere where you can't pay attention. And you forget your son's first hockey game..." I work through my lines with excellent emotion. I feel the frustration build as my acting partner cuts me off.

"Hockey equipment costs money!" He says, giving an irritated sigh, rolling his eyes. I feel my anger flare.

"Your daughter's birthday! And you forgot your anniversary!" I scream, "I mean, I brought you here hoping you'd remember about us and you didn't! And that makes me so mad I don't know what to do anymore!" I finish, walking to the other side of our area. Literally fighting back the tears. My acting partner, Henry, uses the pause to allow me time to gather myself.

"You lie." He says, sounding very bitter. I look at him, while still facing the audience with a look of utter disbelief on my face.

"What?" I ask, sounding incredulous. I cross back over to him, keeping the same posture I've held since yelling.

"You lie, so bad!" He says, getting a slightly hysteric laugh. Which fits perfectly for the kind of arguments I have.

"I don't lie!" I yell, my voice gaining a new edge, an edge of raw emotion. I see Henry get a somewhat worried look in his eyes, not noticeable by our audience...I hope.

"Yes, you do! You say you're not mad, but you are! You say you had a good time, but you didn't! You didn't have a good time did you?" He says the line, bitterly.

"No." I say, just as bitterly. I cross my arms over my chest and walk around to the backside of the bench.

"But you kept saying you did." He says, letting his hands fall to his sides. I look up at him and I let out a incredulous laugh.

"I didn't." I start bitterly. "I didn't have fun, Phil. I don't have fun with you anymore." I pause, then look away. "Did you?"

"No." He says, just as bitterly. "I had a rotten, lousy time." He finishes, coming around the bench to me.

"Well then." I say, taking my turn to let my hands fall to my sides. "What are we doing?" I ask, "What are we waiting for?" I finish, then we both look down and under the bench where we stare amazed for a minute before Henry grabs my shoe and hands it to me. I snatch it from him and walk around the front of the bench and sit down. I pull on the shoe, stand up, take my borrowed car keys out of my coat pocket, and leave the stage. After a while, the entire theatre bursts into applause. The very final scene to our shortened version of Almost, Maine (The Epilogue) goes on and then we're done. Henry stares at me wide eyed.

"Maria...that was...I don't even know what to say...I almost wet myself." He whispers giving me a great big hug. I pat him on the back lightly, and then we wait.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The host announces. I clutch one of Jake's hands and one of Quil's hands. Even though they aren't announcing the placing for the shows today, they're announcing personal awards. "I'd like to start off by saying that we've seen so many wondeArful shows today. Now, I'm going to give out a few special awards for the people who really spoke to us." The man rambles and I feel my eyebrow twitch. "The first one goes to..." I space out, not really all that interested in who all got special awards. "Next, we have Maria Clark as Marci in Almost, Maine!" The entire theatre bursts into applause and I hear whistles. Jake pretty much lifts me over him and I make my way to the stage. I accept the certificate and shake the man's hand before heading back to my seat. Slapping high fives as they're offered to me. Jake lifts me back into my seat and I can barely sit still through the rest of the awards. When they're over with Jake, Quil and I saunter to the lobby.

"You made me cry." A girl says as she walks up to me. "I've seen this show before, but I've never felt so much...emotion. Thank you so much for that." She says, very seriously.

"Your welcome?" I ask, laughing a little. "Thank you, though." I say and the girl moves on. I look to my friends and shrug.

"We always knew that this little body of yours held a big voice." Quil says, patting my head. I glare at him. They're always so fond of pointing out how short I am.

"So, anyway, we've got three hours until the dance. What should we do til then?" Jake asks, and I look around.

"Let's find a bar, so dark we forget who we are." I sing the line from Out Tonight in RENT. Jake rolls his eyes at me and I smile nudging him with my elbow.

"The lounge it is then." He says, and I take his arm. I don't do well in big crowds, so they usually hold onto me (or vice versa) in some way, shape, or form.

Currently, we're sitting at a table in the teenager's lounge. A half drank soda sits in front of me and I stare at the ice cubes floating around. My head rests on the table.

"If you don't cheer up, I'm going to tickle you." Quil says conversationally. I look at him side ways. "Come on Mar-Mar, you know we hate seeing you like this. You're supposed to be...cheerful, and slightly spastic."

"Maybe, I'm becoming a different person Quil." I say, sitting up and sounding quite dignified. In all honesty. I usually am cheerful and spastic. It's not always though, I'm human. I have all emotions, some are more intense then others. "I'm going to flirt with a stranger today." I say, combating my possible feelings for Embry. "Hmm...what about Sweeney?" I ask, gesturing with my eyes towards the guy who played Sweeney Todd in his school's production.

"I don't know, he seems a little stuck up." Quil says resting his chin in his hand. "If you're going to flirt with someone, why don't you flirt with someone at home? He'll at least be able to see it there." I glare at him.

"Quil, you're fired." I say, and turn away from him in my seat. "Hey Jake..." I start, but he just stares at me blankly.

"No." He says bluntly, and I open my mouth to protest and he stops me. "No, I'm not going to be your personal fruit loop for the day. Besides...you're like my little sister. Why on Earth would I want to help you look for some random guy to flirt with?"

"Because, I am like your little sister, and you love me. You wish happiness for me. You know how giddy revenge makes me feel even if the vengeance is taken upon someone who doesn't know/care about it." I say, keeping the same tone throughout.

"Which is exactly why I'm saying no." Jake says, crossing his arms over his chest. I pout and put my head back down.

"Fine then, I'm going with Quil's idea then." I say, getting in mind who exactly my target shall be. My phone suddenly goes off, my ringtone being 'Who Let the Dogs Out?'. I look at the caller I.D and frown. "Guess who it is." I say, almost bitterly before answering.

"Mar-Mar, is that you?" He asks, sounding very different. I've been ignoring his calls all day yesterday and all day today.

"No Embry, I'm the mother fu-" Jake quirks his eyebrow at me. "It's me." I say, rolling my eyes. "And you have five minutes to say what you need to say because I've just met a very nice boy from Port Angles." I lie, earning an eye roll from Quil.

"You what?" Embry asks, his voice going...almost deadly. I feel my eyebrows furrow together in confusion.

"I met a nice boy from Port Angles who wants me to dance with him, and then he wants to buy me a drink. So hurry up and say what you need to say." I say, making myself sound irritated.

"I'm coming to Seattle. What the hell are you thinking? You're barely sixteen. God, I can't leave you alone for five minutes" Is all he says. That's where I draw the proverbial line. He's not staying in my nice rooms I have for me and my friends if he's going to be an asshole.

"No Embry, you've got friends to hang out with now. You made that very clear. So just go ahead and stay in La Push. We'll be fine without you. I assure you. Oh, and for the record, you didn't leave me alone for five minutes. You left me alone for a week, maybe more." I say, going into bitch mode. "Is that all you needed to say?"

"No, I wanted to apologize. Please Mar, I'm begging you. I want to explain what happened but I can't." He says, sounding irritated.

"If you're just going to be a douche, stop calling me. I don't even know why you bothered Embry. Oh. and please don't call me Mar-Mar. That is reserved for my friends." I say, then hang up.

"Wow...you've...become..." Quil searches for the words. "You've grown up a lot." He finally decides on. I shrug, wiping at my eyes.

"I'm not going to tolerate people hurting me anymore. So I'm not going to give anyone the chance to." I say, my voice shaking a little.

"We're not going anywhere Mar-Mar." Jake says, smiling at me. Jake has the kind of smile that will make anyone smile.

"I don't even want to dance with anyone." I say with a laugh. "It sounded like it ticked him off though." They look uncomfortably between each other. "What?"

"Well..." Quil starts then stops, pursing his lips. "I want to dance with you." He says standing up and pulling me up with him. I laugh and Jake just shakes his head.

"Mar-Mar! You're beautiful! Come on, we're going to miss the dance!" Quil says, beating on the bathroom door. I open the door where his jaw drops. The theme of the dance is that you can dress up as any fictional character. I chose Princess Jasmine. I have copper skin and long black hair. I cross the room and look in the full length mirror. I only have one modification for the costume. I take a see-through sparkly piece of blue fabric and use it to cover my stomach. It definitely cuts down the sex appeal of the costume, but I must admit. I look pretty dang hot.

"Quil, close your mouth and lets go." I say pulling him out of the room. Jake meets us in the hall and I close the door to my room and we head downstairs to the dance. The ballroom was transformed into something out of the movies. "Whoa, this is awesome." I say looking around.

"That's for sure." Jake says, as he heads for a table. I run and catch up with him, grabbing his wrist.

"Quil danced with me earlier. Am I going to have to steal your car and go get that Bella girl myself so you'll dance?" I say, tugging at his arm.

"Come on Mar, you know I don't dance." He says groaning. I laugh and continue to pull him. I laugh.

"You can dance with Quil." He says, trying to get me to let go. I don't though, I break out my infamous puppy dog eyes and he sighs. He allows himself to be pulled to the dance floor, where we start dancing. Not in the way most people do though. I'm not really a fan of rubbing my butt against a guy...anyway, we dance for a while then go to sit down. Quil hands me a can of Dr. Pepper.

"You're a gem Quil." I say after cracking it open and taking a big gulp. I notice them looking over my shoulder. I turn around and I feel a scowl work it's way onto my face. Embry's walking towards us, and he had the nerve to bring Paul Lahote and Jared Cameron. I stand up, ready to go off. I feel a hand go around my wrist, I'm guessing it's Quil because he was sitting closest to me. "You're coming with me or letting go." I say through my teeth. He sighs and stands up. I hear Jake stand up to and we walk towards them. I find it a little funny because Quil and Jake are on either side of me like Paul and Jared are on Embry. "Didn't I tell you not to bother?" I ask, acid on my tone. "Or did I not make it clear that we didn't want you here Embry?" I say, even though it's a total lie. I want him here, I want to be making him dance like I made Jake dance. I want to make him carry me piggy-back upstairs.

"I need you to listen to me Maria." He says through his teeth. I cross my arms over my chest, and look at him expectantly. "Can we go outside?" He asks, and I just start walking. I know that Jake and Quil follow me. Once outside, I wrap my arms around my middle.

"Well, are you going to talk or wait for me to freeze to death?" I ask, using the same bitter tone I've been using with him.

"I want to tell you why things have to be this way, but I can't." He says, taking deep breaths. It's almost as if he's trying to control his anger or something. "I can tell you though, that I don't want things to be this way." He gestures between us. He notices the tears in my eyes and steps towards me. I hold out my hand and he runs into it.

"You came here to tell us something we already know. That you've joined some gang or whatever. You came here to tell us that you can't be our friend anymore. Bringing along your new friends I might add. What's-his-name," I say gesturing to Paul. "doesn't even look like he's all there." I reference his appearance. Staring at me, mouth slightly open. "So, you know what Embry? Things may just have to be this way. I'm not going to get used to saying goodbye to you. So you can decide. I'm not going to make you choose between us and them, but you could at least have the decency to keep us at least a little close."

"You're making this more difficult then it has to be!" He yells, and the invisible force pushes me and I stumble backwards.

"Don't yell at her!" Paul yells, shoving Embry back. He puts himself between us. "Don't you dare think you can yell at her." He all but growls.

"Don't tell him not to yell at me." I ground out through my teeth. "Let him yell, that gives me an excuse to knee him where it hurts." I say and I feel arms restrain me. I know they're restraining me because they know I'd really do it. I have before.

"We'll be right back." Jared says as he takes Embry by the arm and starts pulling him towards the fence, which they jump.

"Careful Paul, he'll probably up and leave you too. Promises don't mean anything to him." I say bitterly. He just stares at me, his eyes full of some emotion that I can't quite place. I do my best to keep myself from crying, but I fail. So I turn away from him and into Jake.

"I'm sorry." Paul says quietly after a while. He sits down at one of the unused patio tables. "I know that this all really sucks. He really hates having to leave you guys behind." He doesn't look at us as he speaks. "It's as hard on him as it is on you. Especially you." He says, nodding at me. "I had to do the same thing." He says and I sit down across from him.

"Paul..." I say and he looks up, appearing to be pleased that I knew his name. "There is always a choice in life. No matter what kind of trouble you may be in." I reach across the table and put a comforting hand over his. His skin is burning hot, just like Embry's.

"It's not that easy Maria. Thank you,though." He says in a gentle tone, which I take it that he isn't usually gentle. Everyone knows that Paul Lahote has a bad temper. I sigh and stand up.

"Sure it is, you're just making it more difficult then it has to be." I joke lightly. "We're going to head back in." I say, speaking in plural. "Could you please let Embry know that I'm over it?" I ask, clearly not over it. I mean, accepting my feelings, I've been in love with him for only God knows how long.

"Can you honestly look me in the eye and say that you're over it?" He asks, looking into my eyes. I feel my heart flip, and butterflies instantly fill my stomach. I force myself to stare straight back though, fighting the random shyness.

"I am over it." I say, my voice faltering only so slightly. Honestly, I don't think anyone could hear it. Maybe if they were listening oh so very closely for it. What reason does Paul have to listen closely to me for though?

"Let's go Mar." Quil says gently. I nod and the three of us head back inside. I ignore the doors to the dance though and walk straight for the elevators. I push the button and lean against the wall to wait. I know that I must look very confused.

"Do you guys know what he meant when Paul said especially me?" I ask as we walk onto the elevator.

"Maria!" Embry calls my name and I can't help but stop the door from closing. I step out and I hear the guys sigh as they follow. "Maria..." He stops running as he approaches me. I just look up at him, not bothering to hide how hurt I am. Suddenly, he leans down and he kisses me. I'm totally stunned. My eyes don't shut, but I see that his are. He kisses me insistently, but I feel...nothing. After all of the years of wondering what it would be like to kiss him. I feel nothing. This can't be right. I close my eyes, and kiss him back. There has to be something. After a moment, we pull away. I feel the tears in my eyes. "You don't feel anything do you?" He asks, sounding saddened. I shake my head and look away. "Well...it's okay." He says, smiling at me. "We can still be friends, right?"

"You tell me Embry." I say before heading for the stairs. Our room may be on the sixth floor, but I don't care. I just need to get out of there. I just need to get away.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Welcome to chapter two! This chapter is definitely much longer than the last one, and it's full of a lot of stuff. Let me know what you think. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do. I think my disclaimer is still good...so yeah. Enjoy!_

_ "What on Earth are you doing?" I ask the mystery figure. I feel like I should know who it is, but I don't. He takes off his shoes and jumps into the river. I look around the forest before taking off my coat and shoes and jump in. I open my eyes and see him swimming away. I swim after him. I surface, taking deep breaths and start swimming again. He doesn't come up for air and I start getting worried. Suddenly I see a platform so I swim over to it. I pull myself out of the cold water and I see the boy locked in a cage. I then see another man. He's undeniably beautiful with blonde hair, pale skin...and red eyes. Instinctively I back away from him. He smiles at me in an almost friendly way. He then lets the boy out of the cage. They both have red eyes and pale skin. I know that I should be afraid, but I can't think of the reason why. Then it hits me...the old legends about the cold ones. Suddenly a wolf that's the size of a horse jumps them from behind. Three others join the first one and they tear apart the two men. I stumble backwards and into the water. The last thing I see before going unconscious is Paul's terrified face._

I gasp, sitting up in bed. I quickly crawl out and pull on my borrowed hoodie and step into my flip flops before stuffing the room key into my pocket and going across the hall in attempt to run away from the dream. I knock on the door and it takes a moment, but Jake opens it. He stares at me for a moment.

"What's wrong?" He asks rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he steps back to allow me inside. I walk in and pace. I don't say anything. "Mar." He says, stopping me. He looks into my eyes and I tap my foot, pursing my lips.

"I had a nightmare, and it's really bothering me." I say sitting down finally. "It's like..." I bite my lower lip. "There was this boy...and I was following him through the forest. Then he jumped into the river and I followed him. I lost track of him for a while so I just started swimming in the direction I saw him last. Eventually I came to this platform on the side of the river and I climbed onto it and he was there, but he was locked in some cage." I say, my eyebrows furrowing together in an attempt to decipher the meaning of this dream. "Then there was another man. He was blonde, pale and he had red eyes. He was a cold one Jake. I don't know how exactly I know this, but I do." I say, my tone taking on a weird note. "Then he let the boy out of the cage and I realized he was one too. Then they started walking towards me. Then...these giant wolfs attacked them and I fell into the water." I don't bother telling him the very end of my dream, he doesn't care for stuff like that.

"It was just a dream." He promises sitting down next to me. "Someone's been thinking about the legends a bit too much lately."

"It was so real..." I say then hear Quil groan from his bed. He tosses and turns, and then puts his pillow over his head.

"Ten more minutes Mom..." He says, rolling over again. He goes too far and falls off the the bed.

"Nice ducky boxers." I say not being able to help the laugh that follows. Quil's too funny when things are serious.

"Jealousy isn't a pretty thing Mar-Mar." He says going to his suit case and pulling on a pair of swears. "But what's the matter? You look sick."

"Well, the dream I had did make me sick." I say folding my arms over my chest. "Dying in reams does that to you."

"Why don't we go downstairs and get some breakfast?" Jake says as he pulls on a shirt. I pull my hair into a pony tail.

"Sounds good to me." I say standing up and stretching. My back pops and it sounds really gross but I just laugh a little.

"Why don't you go get some pants on?" He says, regarding me skeptically. "You like like you don't have any on."

"Maybe I like wearing hoodie dresses." I say, but then I sigh. "I don't wanna go back to my room."

"Here." Quil says as he reaches into his suit case and throws a pair of swears at me. I laugh and pull them on over my shorts. I have to roll the waist band a few times, but eventually we're ready to go. So we head downstairs for the breakfast buffet. The three of us load our plates and find a table to sit at. Once we're comfortably seated I dig in.

"So...there really were no sparks?" Quil asks in reference to last night with Embry. He and Jake have always known. I sigh.

"No, it was nice. Don't get me wrong in that aspect." I say tucking the hair that had fallen loose behind my ears before taking a drink of apple juice. "I just imagined that a moment like that would've been magical."

"You're such a girl." He says ruffling my hair. "It's okay though. We love you Mar-Mar." He nods then starts eating.

"So...do you guys think he's going to leave us permanently?" I ask, fearful of the answer I feel in the pit of my stomach.

"I don't know...but I do know that I'm not going to leave you Mar. Who else would pick out my clothes for me when I'm going to hang out with Bella?" Jake says, joking. I can tell he's serious though.

"Quil, I'm going to kill him." I say swinging the baseball bat in a leisurely manner. "He and Embry, are going to get their knees bashed in...then I'm going to ensure that humanity never has to worry about such lowlifes reproducing." I'm way past the crying and depressed stage. Now I'm just pissed.

"That's nice dear, now give me the baseball bat before you become a serial killer." Quil says taking the bat from me. We continue walking, I clench and un-clench my fists. "You're getting sluggish." He teases. I groan.

"Well, we've been walking for about an hour." I say, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. I pull on my baseball cap and pull my hair through it.

"Here, I'll give you a piggyback ride. Just like old times." He says smiling at me. Quil's always the one I imagined would go gay if any of them were to. He's just always so nice, and generally cheerful. I hop onto his back and he starts walking again.

"You know what...we should get Bella to join our group. Then we can get the Clearwater boy and we can start our own gang." I say, planning it. I imagine Quil sagging with chains on his pants and laugh. "We could start a turf war...I could use the baseball bat...that could be my weapon of choice."

"Okay, no more action movies for you." He says cracking up. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to fill the spaces though...Seth's a pretty cool kid." He says thoughtfully. I playfully dig my heels into his side.

"Onward Silver! To the Clearwater boy!" I announce grandly and we both laugh. He just keeps walking at the same pace.

"Hey," A voice catches our attention as Billy Black's old pick up truck pulls up next to us. "Do you guys need a ride somewhere?" Bella Swan asks and I look to Quil.

"That would be lovely, thanks." I say hopping off the Quil's back. He opens the passenger door and I climb into the middle and he gets in and closes the door behind him.

"No problem, where were you guys heading?" She asks as she starts driving again. I notice that there's no music playing, which strikes me as odd.

"Just to my house." Quil offers the information and I nod in confirmation. "You don't have to drive us all the way there though. If you could just drop us off by the general store that'd be awesome."

"If you're sure..." She says awkwardly. "So...have you guys talked to Jake lately?" She asks after a few moments of silence.

"Don't waste your time Bella." I say, honestly just trying to look out for the girl. "He's gone to the dark side along with that no good dirty scoundrel Embry." I feel the bitterness creep back into my tone.

"You mean he's hanging out with Sam Uley's gang?" She asks, looking honestly shocked. "I thought he had mono."

"Yeah, we did too. Then we saw him at the store with Embry and Jared. We said hi and everything, but he just ignored us." Quil says, knowing that I'd go bitch mode if I told the story. I bite my lip against it.

"He's a liar, just like all of the other men in the world. No offense Quil." I say, keeping my tone as even as possible.

"Non taken." He says patting me on the shoulder. "So...yeah that's it I guess. How are you holding up?" He asks, more out of politeness.

"Oh, I'm fine." She lies horribly. Then we get to the store and she stops. "Are you sure this is as far as you want me to take you."

"We'll be fine. Thank you though...oh and if you ever want someone to talk to." I say scribbling my cell number down on a napkin on her dashboard. "You can call me. Us girls have got to stick together don't we?" She stares at me with some emotion on her face.

"Thank you Maria..." She says taking the napkin in a pale, shaking hand. The girl really needs a cheeseburger.

"No problem." I say before sliding out of the truck. Quil closes the door and we start walking again.

"You're being particularly nice..." Quil says looking at me oddly. I shrug and keep walking. I purse my lips.

"Well...Jake just kind of left her with no one to talk to." I say, knowing how depressed that poor girl is. "I mean I at least have you, as pitiful as that is." I tease.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." He says and then we lapse into silence. Neither of us will say it out loud, especially not me, but we really miss them. "Hey...can we go to your house instead? Grandpa's been acting kind of weird lately." He asks looking at me.

"Sure, Mom's home and I think she said something about making me a cake." I say with a shrug. We finally make it to one of our houses and we walk in. "Mom, my future husband and I are home."

"Oh darling! Did you finally kill off the unreliable ones?" My mother asks as she all but dances out of the kitchen.

"I wanted to rid humanity of them, but he wouldn't let me." I say taking my coat off and hanging it on the coat rack. I take Quil's for him and do the same.

"Yeah, I'm no fun." He says with a laugh. "How are you today Melanie?" He asks my mother who smiles.

"I'm doing alright, thank you Quil. Would you like some cake?" She asks and Quil and I fight our way to the kitchen where we sit down at the table with goofy grins on our faces. Mom laughs and dishes us both up a piece of strawberry cake with strawberry icing.

"Thank you!" We chorus and then dig in. We eat in silence, drowning ourselves in the bliss that is my mother's cooking.

"Hey, Melanie. How many Mar-Mar's does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Quil asks earning a glare from me. "At least six. 'Cause you've got to get a ladder and all of that good stuff."

"I'm going to lock you in the basement." I threaten with my fork. "That wasn't even a good joke." I then stand up and take our empty plates and our forks to the sink where I wash them and set them on the dish towel to dry.

"Mar, I've got to go into the diner until close. You be good. Quil, keep her out of trouble." Mom says as she walks into the kitchen pulling on her coat. She kisses me on the forehead.

"Can do." He says with a nod. We both know that we'll probably just choose some random movie to watch.

"Alright, you kids have a good afternoon. Love you." She says before she leaves. Quil and I retreat to the living room where I pop in the first disk in the Supernatural season one box set. We sit down and start watching it. About half way through the second episode my cell phone rings.

"Hello?" I ask the person on the other end. I just hear deep breathing. "Hello? If this is some kid who randomly got my number and is now trying to freak me out because I'm watching Supernatural, know that when I find out who you are. You're dead." I say simply. I hear someone take the phone.

"Mar, it's Embry. Would you mind coming to the beach?" Embry asks me, I hear someone protest in the background.

"Hell yeah I mind!" I say it like it's obvious, because it is. Saturdays are my days of peace. My days to eat cake and watch T.V with friends...friend.

"Look, I know you're probably really pissed off right now, and you're getting you Dean Winchester fix, but I really need you to come to the beach." Embry says, pleading with me.

"Hell yeah I'm pissed off!" I shout, something within me snapping. "First you leave me to run around half naked with Sam Uley and his friends! Then Jake leaves to run around with you guys! Now you're all running around half naked together! I always thought Quil would be the one to go gay, but it's clear that I was wrong! Even if you are gay that doesn't mean that I would love you any less! You're my brothers! I wouldn't leave you behind if I became a lesbian all of a sudden!" The line is quiet for a minute. Then I hear Embry crack up.

"You think we're gay?" He asks, unable to contain his laughter. I hear more people in the background laughing.

"Don't you dare laugh at me you asshole!" I yell, furious. "That tears it! I'm coming to the beach with my Louisville slugger and I'm making sure you never have children!" I hang up and throw the phone onto the couch as I stomp over to the coat rack and pull on my coat.

"You're confidence in my sexuality is so comforting Mar." Quil says dryly as he puts his coat on. "You really shouldn't go...I don't want them to hurt you."

"I'm going." I say determined. I zip my coat up and then grab my baseball bat. Quil facepalms. "You coming with?"

"I have to keep you out of trouble." He says ruffling my hair. I nod and make sure my key is in my pocket before we leave. Locking the door behind us.

"Quil!" I whine, reaching for my bat again. He just holds it up higher. I stop and stamp my foot like a two year old. He just laughs.

"Promise you won't hit anyone with it and I'll let you look tough." He says and I nod. He hands me the bat and we start walking again. After a little while we get to the beach and I see Embry.

"Holy shit dude, she really has a baseball bat." Jared says with raised eyebrows. Embry sighs as he stands up.

"I didn't doubt that she would." He says more to his new friends then to Quil and I. I walk right up to them and stop, twirling the bat around like I often do when I'm bored. I keep a hand on my hip and a pissed off look on my face.

"So, what do you want?" I ask, like I have better things to do then waste my time on him. He purses his lips.

"Well...it's not what I want...Paul kinda wanted to talk to you." He says and I drop the bat. More out of disbelief then lack of coordination with it. I pick it up and sigh.

"So...let me get this straight..." I say, my last cord of sanity threatening to snap. "You...piss me off...have me come to the beach...just so your new bff could talk to me." He nods. "Are you insane!" I yell.

"It's not my fault he thinks you're hot!" He yells right back. In a shell shocked manner I fall back and onto my butt. I just kind of sit there, I feel my eye twitch. No one has every just thought I was hot...or really liked me. I mean Embry kissing me that one time was my first kiss...ever.

"Dude, we're gonna head back home." Quil says as he pretty much picks me up. "Really, I'm getting kind of tired of all this. You guys have fun, leave us out of it." He says as he picks up my bat, puts an arm around my shoulders and leads me away. Suddenly we're face to face with Jake. I glare up at him, and if looks could kill he would probably be dead. As we walk past him, I spit at the ground in front of his feet. I know that it's not very lady-like, but I think it gets my point across. I'm done being nice.

"I can't believe them!" I screech angrily as I walk around the kitchen slamming things about. "He has the nerve to say that Paul thinks I'm hot! He obviously knows perfectly well that I've had the biggest crush on him for like ever! Not Paul! Paul's just the dope who stares all the time!" I know that Quil must be slightly scared because now I have a knife in my hand. If he wants dinner he'll need to get over that. "Then Jacob! I hope that he's happy! I hate his guts too! When you let me get my hands on them..." I growl, muttering dark and scary things under my breath. "If you ever leave." I state, turning around waving my knife. "I actually will kill you."

"I have no doubts." He says, looking very uncomfortable. "So...are you done ranting?" He asks and I feel my face fall into some odd look. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I don't even know anymore." I say as I finish chopping up the various fruits. I throw them into a bowl. "We definitely need more friends." I say as I turn around to look at my last friend again.

"Well...it's not going to be easy..." He starts and then there's a knock on the door. I wipe my hands on a dish towel and go to answer it. As I open the door a girl who's about my height grins at me. She has very slightly tanned skin, pretty brown eyes, and a black pixie cut.

"Hi! I'm Margaret, I just moved in next door. I was annoying my parents so they told me to make friends." She says waving. I feel a smile creep onto my face.

"Hi! I'm Maria, and this idiot..." I say, pulling Quil up. "Is my best friend Quil. You wanna have dinner with us?" I ask and she nods. I step back and she walks inside. "We're plotting the downfall of our ex-best friends." I say, still sounding cheerful.

"That sounds like fun! I think we're going to be good friend Maria." Margaret says as the three of us head to the kitchen.

"Well, they joined the La Push gang." I explain. "So we're thinking about starting our own gang. We're gonna get Seth Clearwater involved...yeah he's just a kid, but he's awesome! Quil wouldn't go with me to get ice cream the other day so he went with me."

"Oh he's totally in! We need gang names now!" She exclaims and Quil facepalms. We laugh and he groans.

"Another Mar-mar...this should be fun." He says as he gets three plates from the top shelf and sets them at the table.

"You know you love me Quil...even if you haven't come out of the closet yet...I still swear by Dean Winchester that those two turned gay too. So you wouldn't be alone in that aspect." I say grabbing the bowl of mac and cheese from the cabinet and dishing out three servings. I then grab the bowl of fruit and dish that out too.

"I'm not gay!" He exclaims and Margaret laughs. "Though...it is a little strange how those guys run around without shirts all the time."

"Gay." She agrees. "So these guys...how long were you two friends with them?" She asks as I pour three glasses of lemonade.

"Well...a really long time." I say, trying to thank. "I think since the land before time." I say then nod to myself. "That sounds about right. Sandbox days."

"You poor things!" She exclaims and then hugs me. I smile and hug her back. "What kind of an asshole would just leave like that?"

"Right!" I exclaim. "So where are you from?" I ask as the three of us sit down and pick up our forks.

"The mysterious corn country." She says and we look at her blankly. "Indiana. It's true what they say though, there is more than corn in Indiana. We have soy beans too!" I laugh.

"You poor thing. I heard that Indiana is an evil place where the weather is bipolar and unreliable. At least here you've got a ninety-eight percent chance of being right about the weather." I say around a large chunk of strawberry.

"That's what my dad said! He's from here originally, but he moved to Indiana so that my mom could be near her mother. Granny Mason died though, so we're here to be close to Granny Wright. She's in better health, that's why we only visited her on the occasion." She explains.

"Mrs. Wright! I love her! She's the most awesome old lady around here!" I exclaim remembering the various occasions on which the woman would give me candy and say that I reminded her of her favorite granddaughter. "You're her favorite granddaughter by the way." I say.

"Knew it!" She exclaims. "My cousins are really annoying. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"She said that Mar and I were going to get married today." Quil says wrinkling his nose. I throw a grape at him and it bounces off of his forehead and lands on his plate.

"What's wrong with marrying me!" I say with scrunched together eyebrows. "I'm a fine catch sir! Who better to marry than your best friend anyway? At least you know that life wouldn't be boring."

"Mar...you're really going to marry me?" Quil says with a raised eyebrow. I stroke my imaginary mustache, sizing him up.

"Maybe...just maybe. I mean you aren't that bad I guess. A little annoying, but that's not anything a lot of time outs could fix." I say and he shudders.

"He doesn't seem that bad...looks strong." Margaret says, appraising my best friend. I grin again, loving this new girl.

"He often man handles me." I say with a nod. "It's 'cause he got jealous of Embry's buff-ness." I say matter of factly.

"I wasn't jealous!" Quil says, face palming yet again. "He used to be the scrawny one remember?" I laugh.

"Yeah...I do. Oh well, that's the past." I say with a shrug. "You're the resident beef cake now." I say poking his arm.

"Definitely beefy." Margaret nods her agreement. "So...I start school on Monday. What should I expect?" She asks.

"Well...you remind me a lot of myself so just act as you normally do and you should be fine." I say giving an assuring smile. "If all else fails, Quil will keep us safe. We can corral Seth into the group tomorrow with ice cream..." My cell phone starts ringing. "Excuse me." I say standing up and going to the couch where I pick it up and answer. "City morgue! You stab 'em, we slab 'em! How may I help you?"

"Uh...Maria?" Bella's awkward voice asks and I grow a little serious. I wonder what could have happened to make her call me so soon.

"Yeah, it's me. What's up?" I ask, concern rearing it's head on my voice. I can feel Quil's confused stare on my back.

"Uh...I just...I think that there's something really wrong with Jake." She says, and I can tell that she's been crying.

"I'll get to the bottom of things." I say, a fire ignited in my soul. Jake really really liked her and now he's making her cry. I mean, I was just his annoying childhood best friend...and he's made me cry bunches of times, but he's always tried to make things right. "Just hang in there...do you uh need someone to hang out with? Quil, Margo, and I are just having dinner right now."

"Who's Margo?" She asks, and I face palm. I already feel so close to the girl that I forget that I met her maybe fifteen or twenty minutes ago.

"She just moved in next door." I explain sitting down on the arm of the couch. "But I'm serious. If you want to hang with us you can."

"Thank you, but I'm just going to head home and finish some homework." She says and I shrug. I roll my eyes at myself then.

"Alright, well don't hesitate to call if you need to talk to someone alright?" I say, honestly concerned for the girl. With the looks I've seen on her face you'd think she were going to commit suicide or something.

"Alright...thanks again." She says before hanging up. I hit the end button and slide my phone into my pocket before going back to the kitchen. Margaret's wiping at fake tears.

"I have a nickname." She says before standing and throwing her arms around me in a hug. I grin and hug her back.

"Well duh! If you're in the group you get a cool nickname." I say like it's obvious. "You can call me Mar-mar, or Mar. Whichever floats your boat. Anyway, troops. We have an espionage mission." I say growing serious as Margo and I sit down at our places again. "Sprinkles made Bella cry. Oh, Sprinkles is Jake by the way." I explain the code name. "Embry can be...hmmm...Princess."

"Okay, that is just too weird." Quil agrees. "It's weirder than you actually starting to care about Bella."

"The girl always looks like she wants to throw herself off of a cliff! It isn't my fault I can have a nurturing nature!" I exclaim throwing my arms up. "Anyway, espionage. We move out...tonight. Aqua Puffin." I say looking to Margo. "You think your rentals will allow it?"

"I'll just tell them you invited me to stay over." She says with a shrug. "I like my code name!" She then exclaims.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Quil you get the okay from your momma to stay over too. I'll give you a masculine code name since I've kind of been mean lately." I say, thinking of a good one. "White Rattlesnake." I say with a nod.

"That sounds cool! So what are you Mar?" She asks and I purse my lips, thinking deeply. I tap my nails on the table.

"I'll be the Black Duckling." I say with a nod. "I overheard Jared's girlfriend Kim talking about a bonfire tonight. We stake it out. I'm gonna go armed with Guadalupe and a paintball gun...Rattlesnake you should bring yours too. I have Princess's in my room so you can use that one Puffin."

"You're getting a little too into this Mar..." He starts and then takes in my glare. "I mean 'Duckling'." He says with a roll of his eyes.

"Are you with us or against us?" I ask raising my eyebrows at him. "I mean...I can always just finish off the cake with Puffin." I say as I finish up my mac and cheese. The fruit had long since disappeared.

"I'm with you...only because it's my job to keep you safe." He says, taking his job very seriously. My mother can be a very scary person. What? You think I got that from my...Not gonna go there.

"Chances are we won't even need to use the guns..." I say as I stand up and serve up three pieces of the cake from earlier. "It's just a precaution."

"And here I thought that things would be boring here." Margo says with a slightly evil laugh. "I've already got two awesome friends who give me cake!"

"It's the best cake ever too!" I exclaim as I sit down and dig in. "Oh! We'll codename Seth too...hmm he can be Little Viper. Oh! Bella is Yellow Swan."

"Okay, you're done with code names." Quil says after a good facepalm. His forehead looks a little red.

"You should quit doing that before you get brain damage." Margo states simply, sounding a little bit like me. She finishes her cake. "I should probably get permission to stay over." Quil and I stand up and walk her to the door. "I'll be back in ten with an answer. Puffin out!" She says before heading out.

"Rattlesnake?" I ask looking up at my lifelong friend. He looks down at me for a moment, before giving me a hug. I hug him back, letting myself cry a little. "I miss them."

"Me too." He says, still hugging me. "Why don't we clean up and then turn on Supernatural?" He asks and I smile a little and we head to the kitchen and clean up before starting back up where we left off.

"Puffin, Rattlesnake. I've discovered the location of their place of operation." I whisper back to where my friends are standing. "It has a perfect observation point." I say, gesturing us forward. We take place behind three different perfectly placed boulders. I probably have the best point to hear. I kneel quietly and tuck the strands of hair that escaped my ponytail behind my ears. I turn my head and listen...it sounds like they're telling the old legends. Jake's dad is at the head of the circle along with Harry Clearwater and Old Quil. I feel my eyebrows furrow together. Then all of a sudden it gets quiet. I mold myself against the rock and signal for the other two to not move. After a moment, they continue with the stories. After they finish the three older men leave and the infamous La Push gang goes about having fun. All of a sudden I'm pulled out of my hiding place. I struggle against the insanely warm arms, but I'm taken to the circle.

"Maria...what are you doing?" Embry asks, rubbing his temples. This is a motion that he used to do a lot when we were younger.

"What's it look like I'm doing? Night paintball gun war with Quil and Margo." I say with venom on my tone. "They're on my tail, so if you don't mind." I say, turning and seeing that Jared's the one who dragged me over here.

"You don't have a drop of paint on you. Why would you need Guadalupe for a paintball gun war anyway?" Jake says skeptically. I feel my face fall into a glare and he doesn't shrink back or anything.

"Maybe I've gotten better. You two wouldn't know." I say to my old best friends. Embry looks a little hurt by that. "So if you don't mind..."

"For Narnia!" Margo screams as she runs by shooting Jared. My gun accidentally goes off, and I shoot him in the crotch. I duck and Jake gets hit. I take off running.

"You'll never escape me!" I scream running after her. I hear heavy footfalls running after me, so I look over my shoulder and see Quil. "Oh shit!" I yell, laughing as he chases me. He tackles me to the ground. "Margo! Margo! Get him! Get him!"

"Told you I wasn't fat!" Quil says, laughing. It's kind of funny how this actually turned out to be fun. I like espionage.

"You're crushing me! My poor lungs!" I say trying to break his hold so I can shoot him . "Quil, no more cake!"

"Get off of her!" An angry voice yells from the bonfire. Three people, who's faces are indistinguishable in the fire light start walking towards us.

"Enemy fighters! Join forces!" Margo yells as she runs up and helps Quil and I up. We nod and take off running. When we deem ourselves far enough away, we duck behind some boulders to catch our breath. I start laughing.

"I shot Jared in the balls." I fall over cracking up. "That was perfect...Except I'm going to have a giant bruise on my ass...Rattlesnake!"

"Duckling, it was necessary." He says with a shrug. "You know...while we're out here we could actually have a war..."

"I like Rattlesnake's idea." Margo says as she's still panting. "This is a good way to get me in shape." She says as she runs a hand through her hair.

"Maybe next weekend, I'm pooped." I say as I rest my head against the rock. "Mom should be home soon, she's gonna love you Puffin."

"I'm excited to meet her! Anyone who can spawn someone as awesome as you is bound to be amazing!" She says sitting cross legged.

"Alright then, once we've all caught our breath we'll move out." Quil says as he looks over his shoulder. It's almost like he expects the three who started to walk over to appear at any moment. The thought has crossed my mind too. We hold true to our word and head home as soon as we catch our breath. We take the long way so we don't have to pass Sprinkles and Princess again. After my mom meets Margo the three of us settle into the living room to watch Supernatural. Quil is the first one out, followed by Margo, and then ultimately (a long while later) me.


	3. Chapter 3

_Welcome to chapter three! I really hope that you enjoyed the last chapter. I really enjoyed writing it towards the end. I have no idea what's wrong with me, or why I'm such a spaz. I kind of like it though. So anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

"Can we please quit listening to Dixie Chicks?" Quil asks, sounding extremely exasperated. "We've listened to three of their cds already, I think it's time."

"No we cannot stop listening to Dixie Chicks." I say furrowing my eyebrows and then giving him a dirty look.

"Yeah...besides, you know that it's starting to grow on you Quil." Margo says as she rolls over onto her stomach. Currently, Margo and I are laying across my bed and Quil is on the floor next to it. Suddenly, there's a tap on my window. Which strikes me as strange since it's the second story...I stand up and go over to it. "What's up buttercup?"

"Oh great." I say, my face falling into a scowl as I open the window. "I thought I told you three to go to Hell!" I holler down at Jake, Embry, and Paul.

"When have I ever listened to you?" Embry calls up and I flip him off. "You wound me deeply Maria."

"Good! Next time I'm going to throw something sharp." I say, still angry that he had the nerve to come here. "What do you want? Quil, Margo and I are getting naked."

"You clearly aren't naked." Jake says as he shakes my head. I'm especially mad at him...he can talk to Bella now, but not me?

"Oh baby!" Margo cries out and I fight hard to keep a straight face. I successfully do this and I see the three gang bangers raise their eyebrows.

"Go away Sprinkles!" I shout before closing my window. I turn to walk away when another pebble hits. I grab a rock from the Jake shelf on my book case, and then open my window again. "What!" I yell.

"Talk to us..." Embry says, pleading with me. "Please Mar-mar..." He says and I chuck the rock at him. He catches it before it hits him in the face.

"Quil! Oh my God!" Margo screams, and I have to turn away from the window, because my face falters. "Mar-mar come join us!"

"Okay, that's enough. We all know that nothing like that is going on." Jake says sort of gruffly. I put my hands on my hips...and then making a daring move. I strip off my tee shirt so I'm standing there in my black tank top. I put my hands back on my hips. "Mar..." Jake starts and I raise my eyebrows, moving my hands to the hem of my tank top.

"Maria Lillian!" Embry screams, turning bright red. I rest my hands on my stomach, patting it. I know I have a rocking body, and Embry must realize it now too. Too late bud! Hah!

"Embry Ryan!" I shout back, keeping my look indifferent. "You have no say in what I do with myself and if that means wild sex with my two best friends then that is what it shall be!" A stuffed animal hits the back of my head and I turn around and glare at Quil.

"Maria...will you please just let them say what they need to say?" Paul asks, speaking up for the first time since they got here. I turn back around and sit on the window seat.

"You have fifteen minutes." I say folding my arms across my chest. Embry and Jake look to each other for a moment, and then to Paul.

"Well...we kinda can't explain it here." Embry says, regaining his composure after losing it earlier. My face falls from it's neutral look and into an 'Are you kidding me?' look. "I'll call you alright? We can talk about it later."

"Alright, when you call you get fifteen minutes." I say before I stand up and close my window, ending the conversation thoroughly. "Native American people these days." I say with a roll of my eyes before flopping down onto my bed.

I pace around my house, leaving in my wake an insane amount of clean. Mom is going to question me, because I only clean like this (without being asked) when something is up...aren't mothers not supposed to be able to guess stuff like that? Suddenly, my phone starts ringing. I hit the talk button and hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I continue cleaning the grout of the kitchen floor.

"Hello?" I ask into the receiver. I make a face at myself, because that's the most normal I've answered a telephone...ever.

"Are you okay?" Embry's voice asks, sounding very worried. He probably noticed my tone and my lack of a witty answer message.

"Oh just peachy. Anyway, you have fifteen minutes." I say, scrubbing the grout with the toothbrush I just opened to do the job.

"You're cleaning aren't you...tell me you aren't cleaning the grout again. You remember what happened last time?" He asks and I clear my throat. "Oh right, fifteen minutes. Well...it's gonna take more than fifteen minutes and it can't be over the phone..." I throw the toothbrush.

"I'm done playing games with you, Call! Either you tell me what the Hell's going on or you leave me alone! It obviously can't be both ways!" I yell, beyond fed up by this point. "I don't deserve this! I don't deserve any of it! First you abandon me, then Jake after he promised he wouldn't hurt me like that! You both know how I feel about that! But no! You don't care! You're just worried about your stupid gang and your steroids! So you know what! I'm done! I have Quil and I have Margo! I don't need you, Jake, or your other little friends! You can even keep Bella! Just leave me out of it!" I shout, panting by the time I'm done with my rant.

"We aren't a gang! If you would take ten seconds to get out of your fucked up little fantasy world, maybe you'd see that!" He yells back, finally snapping. It honestly feels like I just got smacked across the face, and then stabbed in the stomach with a corkscrew. "Mar..." He says, but I stay quiet. "Maria, I'm sorry I...I didn't mean that." I still don't say anything. "Mar-mar?"

"Don't you dare call me that." I say, my voice somewhat emotionless. I hit the end button on my phone and then turn it off. I head upstairs and grab two boxes. I take off the necklace that Embry gave me for my birthday last year and put it in the box first before I pack up the various hoodies he's left here as well as stuffed animals I've received. I do the same with Jake's stuff. After I finish packing up the things I close the boxes and then pull on the hoodie that Quil forgot today, it's my favorite one of his. I think I bought it for him for some holiday or something. I don't know, but it's big and warm and it's comfy. I step into my shoes and pick the boxes up. I head downstairs and out the door, not even bothering to lock it behind me. Since Jake's house is the closest, I head there first. I set the heavy boxes down once I get there and knock on the door. When Billy answers the door he looks like he's about to say that Jake isn't home. "I know that Jake isn't home...but I needed to drop off some things, and to say that I love you Billy...you're like a father to me, but I don't know how often I'll be seeing you anymore. So can I just put this stuff in Jake's room? Tell him to give them to Bella...since she still looks depressed all the time and stuff."

"Of course..." Billy says, looking very solemn. He rolls back his wheelchair and I step through the door with the box of the Jake stuff and I go back to his small, familiar room. I set the box down on his bed before I head out, closing the door behind me. I lean down and give Billy a great big hug. "I love you too Maria...and I'm sorry how things are working out." He says and I just nod, knowing that if I speak, I'll lose it. I head back out into the early March air and pick the Embry box back up and start walking towards his house. When no one answers the door I use the key that's under the mat to let myself in. I know that sounds illegal, but Tiffany always said that if I needed in I could use that key. I go to Embry's room and set the box on his bed. I look around the room and see all the pictures of the four of us still setting out. That just breaks my heart even more. This almost feels like I'm saying goodbye forever...and it really hurts. This is all becoming so final...I've had arguments with Embry in the past where I haven't spoken to him for weeks, but they've always gotten better. This has been going on for longer than a couple of weeks though...and he's never said anything so hurtful to me. I see that his bed isn't made and I roll my eyes. He's always been so lazy about stuff like this, so for the last time ever. I make his bed for him, set a little chocolate that I found in the pocket of Quil's hoodie on his pillow and then leave the Call household for the last time.

"Mommy?" I ask into the phone as my mother answers it. I know my voice is shaking really badly. I haven't talked with her about how bad this has been hurting me...only how mad I am at Jake and Embry.

"What's wrong baby?" She asks me, sounding very concerned like only a mother can. That's when I lose it, I just start crying. "I'll be home in five minutes." She says before the line disconnects. My phone then rings and I look at the caller I.d. It's Bella. I calm myself down and test my voice before I hit talk.

"Mario's pizzeria! Best pizza's in the Midwest!" I answer, doing my best to sound as cheerful as I possibly can.

"Hey Maria..." Bella's voice greets me. She doesn't sound as awkward as she normally does. "I...heard about what happened with Embry." She says and I scoff. Of course she would have already heard by now. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay." I say, sounding almost normal. "My heart's been ripped from my chest you know for a little while and now he's just stepping all over it and kicking me and junk while I'm down. I've lost two of my very best friends. You know? They're the only ones who have ever seen me cry. Ironic isn't it? I finally cleaned out all of their stuff from my room and returned their stuff to them. I gave Jake some stuffed animals to give to you, so enjoy them okay?" I ask, unable to hold off the sob at the end of that. "They always made me really happy. I'm sorry, I've got to go." I say.

"I understand..." She says very quietly. "If you need anything at all, call me okay?" She says. "I'm going to be spending some time up here over Spring Break...we can hang out if you want to." She offers.

"Thank you." I say, trying hard to hold off my crying. It's hard. "I'll let you know." I say and then hang up. I then sit in the middle of kitchen floor, hug my knees to my chest and let myself cry again. Hopefully for the last time over Embry Call.

I walk into the school, the hood of Quil's hoodie pulled up. I keep my eyes on the ground as I walk to my locker. I have a killer headache and my eyes are red and puffy from crying mostly all night. I slept in my mom's room with her and she comforted me the best she could. If not for her, I probably wouldn't be here. I don't even feel like myself...but Margo needs me today. It's her first day of school here. I would die if I had to start as a new student here in the middle of the third semester of school. Especially when she's paler then most of us are. She's also different like I am...so people will probably call her weird. They also might leave her alone...I hope so. I don't get made fun of, because people are used to me and I normally help cheer people up sometimes. I just hope they get used to her quickly. I hope they can handle two of us. I get to my locker and open it. I grab the stuff I need and close it. Suddenly, Jake blocks my path.

"Jake, please don't." I say, just sounding tired. "I don't want to mess with this anymore, just don't." I say shaking my head. Tears spring to my eyes and I curse myself. I don't look up at him.

"Maria..." He starts and then stops. "You don't have to stop visiting my dad..." He says before he walks away. I rest my head against my locker, willing my eyes to dry up. Heaven knows I don't need to cry anymore. I just need to pull myself together. I promised myself, unrealistically, that I wouldn't cry for them anymore. I need to just get up and move on with my life. I have my Margo and I have my Quil and I have my mom. Oh, and apparently I still have Billy too, so I have a dad now too. I don't need anyone else. All I'm missing are two of my brothers...I really suck at giving myself pep talks when I'm in a mood like this.

"Uh...hey." Paul's voice near me pulls me out of my internal pep talk and I look at him. I actually look up at him and into his eyes, seeing as though they offer some sort of a comfort. "Embry really didn't mean what he said...he was really frustrated."

"I understand...and when people get frustrated, they say the things that have been on their mind." I say in my tired voice. "At least I know why things never worked out romantically between me and him like I wanted. No sparks or anything." I say, almost like it's a small victory. "I should've just left them alone to begin with...to be fair though, he is the one who followed me to Seattle. Then Jake had to go and leave...and ugh."

"That's exactly why you should believe that he's sorry." Paul says gently. "Can I...uh walk you to class?" He asks and I shrug. We start walking. "He's literally sick with himself, he threw up after he found the box of stuff in his room."

"That was probably from the chocolate...I found it in the pocket of Quil's hoodie." I say, and normally I would've laughed at something like that. I can't even bring myself to be angry.

"No...I don't think it was that. He realized how bad he fucked up, because you are an amazing woman." He says and I actually laugh. "What?"

"You're the first person ever describe me as a woman...why are you being so nice to me anyway?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing together.

"Well...all you've got right now is Quil, as pathetic as it is." He says, pretty much saying the exact same thing I said to describe it.

"Quil is an amazing friend." I say, though slowly I'm starting to see the changes in him like with the other two. "He often leaves me his hoodies...well I think he forgets them, but I'm just going to go with my previous statement. His have always been the comfiest and so if that isn't a good friend then I have no idea what is." It isn't a rare occasion where I will wear their hoodies as dresses with leggings underneath them. I even add a belt from time to time, but today I just went with the hoodie. Of course I have a tee shirt on underneath that. "I really hope that Embry isn't having you talk to me, because I don't think I'd be able to make myself hate you."

"He isn't." He promises, and for some weird reason...I believe him. "You know...it was really funny when you shot Jared in the balls the other night." He says and I just feel a ghost of a smile on my lips.

"That was an accident. I really wouldn't do that to someone I don't know well...I hope he isn't like going to kill me in my sleep or something." I say hugging my books tighter to my chest. "I guess I'll just have to start locking my window and stuff."

"He wouldn't." Paul says, almost fiercely. "I mean...he isn't mad. It's not like you took aim and...He isn't mad." He assures me.

"At least I'll live to see my sixteenth birthday." I say, stating my small victory. My birthday falls on March twenty-sixth, aka the first day of Spring Break...normally. This year it's that way.

"Well happy birthday." Paul says with a smile towards me. I return it halfheartedly. "Come on...smile. You're too cute to not smile." He then seems to realize what he just said and he puts his foot in his mouth. "I'm sorry...you probably think I'm some freak now."

"It's not like I'm one to talk." I say with a shrug. I stop walking because we're outside my first class now. "Here's my stop."

"Well...it was nice talking to you. Happy birthday...in a week." He says before mentally smacking himself (I know the face). I give a small smile of thanks before I head into my class.

"Paul really isn't that bad of a guy." I say to my two friends as we sit down at a lunch table. I purposefully chose one that's as far away from the gang as physically possible, given our restraints to the cafeteria. I've done this all week...and it's Thursday now. "He walked me to first period on Monday and then told me happy birthday in a week." I don't remember why I didn't mention this then.

"I don't trust it." Quil says, very bitter after finding out I cried all night/...again. I mean...it's not like I'm going to take the time and call him to say 'Hey Quil, I've been crying all night.'. I just really needed my mom.

"I don't like it either...I don't know them at all, but I get an off feeling. There's something about them that makes my instincts scream, 'Ohmygawdwhattheeffareyoudoing,run!' I don't like it." Margo says, her lips pursed into a hard line and her eyebrows furrowed together. She looks like I must have before this whole fiasco. Except...I was ready to bash someone's brains in with a baseball bat. "I have half the mind to borrow Guadalupe and show them who their messing with. You won't have to worry about a thing." I then nod, pleased with my prediction...then I shake my head.

"I mean no...don't do that. It isn't worth it...I'm just done." I say gesturing the finality of everything. "We should just turn the page and write a new chapter. I'll be okay in a week or so. In the meantime, we need to have that paintgun war this weekend. Saturday night, rain or no." I say. "We should invite Little Viper too, he seems like he'd be fun. Then at least it'd be fair and we wouldn't gang up on Rattlesnake."

"That is true...poor Rattlesnake is out numbered currently." Margo nods her agreement. "My mom wants to meet you two by the way!" She exclaims.

"Eh...maybe when my eyes aren't puffy and I don't look like I have a hangover." I say and then we laugh, even Quil in his bad mood. "Quil...smile. You're supposed to be the fluffy sweet one. You're milk chocolate, remember? I'm dark chocolate." I say referring to our conversation the previous week about how my mood has been lately.

"I know Duckling...it's just...something feels really off." He says and I put my hand over his, in a comforting gesture. "Now things are really off. My world has been tilted off of it's axis because you aren't calling me at three in the morning with your quarrels about eating the chocolate chicken your mom got for you."

"I do need help deciding these things...I mean other than that cake I haven't had very many sweets here recently. The world is off it's axis Quil..." I say, thinking deep.

"We'll fix that this weekend my darlings, I promise this to you." Margo promises us putting her hand over ours. "I mean...I'm the team mate who's been on the bench the entire game. Well...I didn't really know that I was supposed to be on the team so I've kind of been sucky, but I'm here now, and I'm going to bring you guys out of this funk."

"Awww Puffin...you haven't been sucky, you just didn't know you were on the team because you weren't here yet." I say reassuringly. "You're a gift from Morgan Freeman."

"Well...at least you're on your way to being back." Quil says with a slight laugh as he ruffles my hair.

"Margo...I rather like your hairstyle. Would you help me find a short style for myself?" I ask as I pet my ponytail that's over my shoulder. My hair nearly reaches down to my butt now...it's time I get it cut.

"Are you insane?" Quil asks, his eyes bugging out. "Your hair is beautiful! Why on Earth would you want to get it cut!" He and the guys have always had this view on my hair. They think it's the most beautiful thing in the world.

"So I can donate it to little kids with cancer." I say blinking up at him. He can't argue with that, no one could argue with that.

"It amazes me how quickly you can win in situations like that." Margo says appreciatively. "But yeah, I'll definitely help. Then we can go to this salon in Port Angles that I heard about." Then my eyes widen. "Why do I get the notion that you won't be needing my assistance in picking out a hair style."

"Because I just decided that I want my hair to look like Peter Pan's...like in the Jeremy Sumpter version." I say, a hint of excitement creeping into my voice.

"That'll look so cute on you!" She exclaims, standing up in her excitement. People around us look at her and so I give them death glares and they look away. She sits down, unphased by the scrutiny. I smile and we make plans to ask my mom to take us to Port Angles today after school...since it is her day off.

"I do believe in fairies! I do! I do!" I scream from the cliff top. "I do believe in fairies!" I scream again.

"I do! I do!" Margo joins in, taking my hand. "I do believe in fairies!" We chorus and then glare at Quil. He walks over and takes my other hand.

"I do. I do." He says unenthusiastically. We then jump off of the cliff. This has been our plan since I got my Peter Pan haircut. Well for Margo and I, Quil only came along because he's like my body guard. We laugh as we collect our things from the beach and start walking. I wrap my towel around my shoulders and Margo gushes about how amazing that cliff diving was.

"I cannot think of a better way to spend a Friday night." I say with a smile...and then laugh. "I guess pissing off Embry and Jake was a bonus." I say thinking about my hair.

"That's always going to be your hobby now, isn't it?" Quil asks and I shrug. "Well...it was kind of funny to see their faces."

"Right!" I ask in excitement. I'm mostly back to my old self. Losing the hair felt like a weight off of my shoulders...literally and figuratively. It starts to rain then. "Ah, figures." I say with a shrug. "This just means hot chocolate when we get back to my place!" I then realize something. "Quil...you've stayed at my house at least one night every weekend for about a month." I chuckle.

"Scandalous! He sleeps on your floor!" Margo says with a laugh. "Now it'll be sleep overs of three like last Saturday. I loved it!"

"Me too! Best night ever!" I exclaim. "That is...before tonight! Then on my birthday we can have a movie party!" I link my arms with Margo and Quil's. "I love you guys." Quil feels really warm. "Hey Quil...are you feeling alright buddy?" I ask.

"Yeah, I feel fine. Why?" He asks and I shrug...this is kind of what it was like for Jake...he felt warm, but he said he felt just fine. What if Quil's going to leave me too.

"No reason...just promise you'll let me know if you ever decide you don't want to hang out anymore...don't just disappear. Okay?" I ask and he raises his eyebrow at me. "Come on curly que...just promise me."

"Fine, I promise that if I ever go insane finally and decide to stop talking to you I'll let you know." He says with a roll of his eyes.

"Okay...good." I say with a smile. "This spring break's going to be the best." I say and then we hear a growl in the trees. Margo and I shrink behind Quil. "Tell me that was a group hallucination." I say in a small voice. "Rattlesnake. Tell me it was a group hallucination."

"I don't know what it was...but let's hurry up." He says as he keeps an eye on the forest and drags us into a walk. We hear another growl, this time closer.

"Would it be bad to run?" I ask in a very quiet voice. I look up at Quil who shakes his head 'no'. "Kay...on the count of three...one...two...three." There's another growl, and we break into a run, and we don't stop until we reach my house. I swear I could hear it running along side us until the forest stopped. Once inside, I slam and lock the door.

"What's the matter?" My mom asks as she walks into the living room and takes in our appearance.

"Uh...you know those wolves or whatever that chief Swan mentioned?" I ask and she nods. "Well...I think that we just about got eaten by one. So we ran all the way home..."

"Yeah...I have the feeling that we were almost wolfy-snacks." Margo agrees, and then we relax our position.

"We heard it growling and then we're pretty sure it chased us until the forest line ended." Quil says, obviously the more calm of us three.

"We should probably call and let them know what happened." Mom says as she heads for the kitchen. We follow her and sit at the table as she talks to the deputy. Finally she sighs. "Yes, hello chief Swan...my daughter and her friends just ran all the way home from near First Beach. They said that they heard a wolf growling and then they started running. Yes...they said that it chased them until the tree line ended. Thank you...yes good night." She hangs up the phone. "Alright...why don't you three take a nice hot shower? Then I can make you all something warm to drink."

"Alright...you go ahead and go first Margo." I say, being nice since she's the newest to the group. She also looks to be the coldest.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a flash!" She says, then pretty much runs off to ditch her freezing cold clothes. I just sit at the table, staring blankly ahead...thinking. What if that wolf would have gotten us? I'd probably be dead or seriously injured right now.

"This is the most depressing Tuesday...I've ever had." I say as I stare at the ceiling. Margo's family dragged her off for a spring break vacation. This will probably be the worst week of my life. Quil's mom decided to do some renovations and everyone knows that it's best to keep me far away from tools of any sort. I'm lucky they let me keep Guadalupe...I yawn and stand up from the floor and go to the kitchen. I grab a glass down from the cabinet and pour a nice glass of Sunny D. I catch a glimpse of a face in the window and scream at the top of my lungs. This is why I don't ever stay home by myself! "Now I'm going to be raped!" I exclaim, voicing my thoughts as I rummage through the silverware drawer in search of a good enough knife. I give up on the knife and grab the barbeque fork that never gets used. Suddenly, the window opens and I bite back a scream. Then I see Jake and relax slightly.

"You wouldn't answer my calls, my texts, and you wouldn't answer the door. So I'm letting myself in." He says as he climbs through the window. "Jeez...you look scrawny." He says, seeming to appraise me. I look down at myself, frowning. Maybe I have lost some weight...I haven't really noticed. I go to the mirror in the hall and lift up my shirt to just below my boobs. I see my ribs. "Maria...what are you doing to yourself?"

"Living?" I ask, more confused by this then he is. "Huh...I guess I should really observe myself more often...and possibly wear less of Quil's clothing and more of mine...at least I have a future as a xylophone player." I say as I put my shirt down, then I realize who it is. "I'm pissed off." I say, my face falling into a scowl.

"I know..." He says with a sigh. "I was wondering if you would come to a bonfire though...it's tonight."

"I'm busy." I say...even though it's a lie. "Jake...I'm done putting myself through the torture that is you guys being menstrual. I'm not even this bad, and I'm usually okay after a day or so of bitching."

"Embry really didn't mean it when he blew up at you..." He says as he goes back to the living room. I follow him and he takes in my camp. Empty Twizzlers bags litter the area and my various box sets of Supernatural lay scattered around on the coffee table. "New kick?" He asks, and I shrug. I go through various candy phases. At one point the easiest way to my heart was through a bag of gummi worms. I sit down...urging myself to not cry.

"Did you give Bella those stuffed animals?" I ask, and he looks like I just smacked him. "I wasn't kidding."

"No...I didn't. They're yours." He says sitting down next to me. I twist my hands over and over again in my lap "Mar...things really don't have to be this way anymore."

"Embry made it pretty clear that I bug the shit out of him." I say softly. "I'm tired Jake." I say looking over at him. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a hug. I wrap my arms around him and try to remember what things used to be like before any of this. "I love you Jake, and I miss you so much." I say, my voice sounding weak and lame as tears take over. His arms tighten around me and I swear that I'm probably choking him with how tight my arms are around his neck. My face is buried into his shoulder as I cry. "If I don't get Embry back, at least let me have you back Jake...I promise I can change. I can quit being annoying...I'll stop sugar...and I'll even give up Dean Winchester. I promise, I just need you so bad. You, Billy, Quil, Margo, and my mom are all I have left. I can't lose you, Jake. You're the only one of my friends I have who can comfort me like you do on Father's Day. I know we're all missing someone...but you are just so different. You will actually sit down and talk with me about it. You leave me alone until I'm ready to talk to you. Even if Embry never wants to speak to me again, I can live with that. I just can't lose you."

"You don't need to change at all." Jake says gently. "You need to get some meat on your bones...but that's about it as far as change. You need to put on some weight, and you need to smile." He says sitting back. I wipe my eyes and try to hide my face. "Mar, you've always been way too pretty to cry like this."

"Well, it's starting to seem like it's going to last forever. No thanks to you." I says as I dab at the tears that keep flowing from my eyes. "Damn it!"

"I don't have very much free time anymore, but whenever I can I'll come and see you...alright?" He says and I nod.

"And Jake? Can you text me too? Quil's texting leaves much to be desired." I ask and he just laughs his Jacob laugh and hugs me again. "I promise that I love you...and I always will. No matter what I say when you have terrible gas or when you act like an ass."

"You're such a saint Mar-mar, let me tell you." Jake says, not being able to contain his laughter. I can't help but laugh with him.

"Saint Maria at your service." I say as I sweep a noble bow. "This week may not be so bad now...and to think I thought you were a rapist...or the wolf that chased Margo, Quil and I the other night." I say nonchalantly.

"You sure you got chased by a wolf?" He asks as he raises an eyebrow. I nod. "Are you sure that wasn't a dream?"

"Quil assured me that it wasn't a dream, and running was a good idea. Margo was there too. I thought I said that already. We called Bella's dad, and he said that they're going out hunting for the wolves or wolf or whatever this week. I'm not sure when." I explain.

"Well...I'd just stay out of the woods if I were you, and keep Quil around. Where is he by the way?" Jake asks as he looks around. "You..."

"Never stay home alone. I know. Joy decided to do some renovations...and we all know what happened last time I tried to use a power saw." I say simply.

"Yeah...that's definitely not a good idea." He sighs as he gets quiet for a moment. "I better get going. I'll bring you something to eat when I get a chance, okay?"

"Thanks Jake..." I say, we both know that I'm not the greatest cook in the world. The extent of my ability is probably just mac and cheese. "You're too good to me."

"I'm not good enough to you." He counters and I give him another hug. He hugs me tight and then I walk him out. "I promise to do my best to be a better friend now...okay?"

"Alright Jake, go do what you need to do." I say waving. He smiles at me and then he leaves. I close the door, lock it and then settle onto the couch again.

"You're going to give me your sevens..." I say to my opponent. He always makes Go Fish more difficult then it needs to be. "Come on...it's not that hard. You could even count that on your hands." Then I hear a knock at the door. "Okay...you're safe for now." I say as I get up and go to the door. I unlock it and open it a fraction. I'm faced with the bare chest of Jake. "Well hello there Jacob's nipples, how are you today?"

"Who were you talking to Mar?" Jake asks and I look up at him, and notice that Paul's with him. I quirk my eyebrow. "You know Paul, he walked you to class the other day."

"I remember that Jake." I say, rolling my eyes. "I was talking to Kirk though." I answer as I open the door and step back to allow them inside. "A better question is why aren't either of you wearing shirts?"

"Uh...why are you playing cards with a stuffed bear?" Paul asks and I frown and walk over to where I was set up and stand in front of it.

"He's a koala and he's none of your business." I say as I fold my arms over my chest. "What'd you bring me Jake?"

"Uh, right! Emily sent over some chicken and noodles for you and mashed potatoes." He says as he walks straight through to the kitchen. I follow after him, gesturing for Paul to follow.

"Awesome! That's so much more than what I had for lunch! I found some crackers...everything else required effort." I say as I sit down at the table. Jake goes about preparing my meal for me.

"We need to teach you how to cook." He says as he gets out a fork and a napkin and sets it in front of me. Paul just watches us, standing back.

"Well don't act like you don't know me at all. You can sit, I promise I haven't rigged the chairs." I as I accept the can of 7-Up from Jake. He smiles, blushing a little and walks over and sits down. "So anyway, I killed twenty bags of Twizzlers today."

"Twenty? Isn't your candy record like fifteen?" Jake asks before taking the plate of food from the microwave and setting it in front of me. He sits down.

"It was, yes. I mean business now. I counted my change when I finished season two and I'm going to get Quil to go buy me more. There's enough for at least forty-five bags I think." I say around a mouthful of noodles.

"God I've missed you." Jake says as he laughs. He then looks at Paul. I take a drink and look at him as well.

"You know...you can talk too. Just because I don't know you very well doesn't mean you have to be quiet. I invited Margo to dinner ten seconds after she introduced herself to me." I say with a shrug. "I'm a kind person."

"What about the time you shaved off half of Quil's left eyebrow?" Jake asks and I laugh. I'd forgotten about that.

"Quil's my favorite to tease. You know that. Then you're my favorite to talk to...and He Who Shall Not Be Named was always my video game buddy." I say and Jake laughs. "Okay, only because he's the only one I can beat."

"He does suck at video games." Paul agrees and my stomach fills with an odd feeling. Butterflies? That's weird.

"Yeah...majorly. Anyway, the other day I convinced Quil that there aren't any cows in Florida. He still believes me too!" I exclaim, catching Jake up on my victory. "I could sell water to a fish."

"Sounds like it..." Paul says, appearing to get less awkward. The house phone rings and Jake stands up and gets it for me. I answer it and am greeted by someone screaming. I hold the phone away until it stops.

"Are the men in Florida really that hot? Or are you just trying to make me jealous?" I ask, knowing that it's Margo.

"Oh my God! My little heart can't take much more! I'm sending you the pictures when we hang up!" She says. "Anyway, how are things there?"

"Oh...you know...I already killed those Twizzlers you bought for me." I say and it sounds like she does a spit take. "Uhhh Sprinkles is here. Things are cool now."

"Sprinkles?" He asks and I shush him. He shrugs and the picks up my 7-Up. I smack his hand and take it back.

"Really! That's great! I'm really happy that things are working out! I've gotta go though, Mom needs me to slather aloe on her back. Silly white people! Sun is for natives!" She says.

"Hey, you're half white!" I exclaim laughing. "I'll forgive you for that though. Have fun slathering green gunk on your mom!"

"Kay kay! Love you, buh byeee lady!" She says and then the line disconnects. I hang up the phone and set it down before mixing my mashed potatoes and noodles together.

"Okay...now I'm positive that you cloned yourself. So that's Margo?" Jake asks and I nod, conscious of talking with my mouth full for some reason now.

"Yeah, she's pretty great. She likes Kirk." I say with a pointed glance at Paul. "She's making him an outfit, and then she's going to teach me how to sew. I can finally make that skirt I promised Quil!"

"That's be great to see." Jake says with a laugh. "I really need to talk to him too." He then says, thinking.

"Yeah...he may not be as vocal as I am, but he misses you too." I say almost sadly. "If you say anything to anyone Paul. I'll personally kill you." I add on with a sweet smile at him.

"My lips are sealed." He says miming zipping his lips. "So Emily's a great cook, huh?" He asks and I nod.

"These are the second best noodles I've ever had!" I exclaim and then continue eating. "You'll have to tell her I said thank you very much!"

"Why don't you come over for lunch tomorrow?" Jake asks, looking at Paul for a moment. "I'm not sure what Em's making, but I'm sure it's going to be great."

"Ohh, a peek into the wolves' den that is the La Push community service group who are super buff." I say and Jake looks almost like he could throw up. "Gosh...if it's that repulsive of an idea to you, then don't invite me." I say, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'll stick to my crackers and Twizzlers."

"No, it's not that. It's just you sound so normal." He says, trying to cover himself. I don't buy it, but I pretend to.

"Ohhh! Okay then!" I say with a shrug. "What time? I need to know so you things aren't awkward when you come to pick me up."

"Awkward? Like no pants on awkward?" Paul asks and I raise my eyebrow at the boy. "What?" He asks.

"You act like I have issues changing in front of Jake and Quil. As long as neither of the girls or anything else inappropriate shows then it's perfectly acceptable. That and when you're involved in the theatre you have to get used to changing in the green room." I say...the only person I refuse to change in front of is Embry. I make him leave the room. He thinks it's because I enjoy giving him a hard time and that is part of it. "But what I meant by awkward was, me in the shower singing awkward. I'm not a very good singer."

"So actresses don't have issues with changing in front of dudes?" He asks and I facepalm. I should quit that, I don't want to end up with brain damage like Quil.

"Okay...too much time with Quil. I agree." Jake says and I laugh. I finish my noodles and stand up and throw the paper plate away and toss the fork into the sink. "Not even talking a day and I already have a list of things to do. Chap stick, foods to beef you up, bring that box back...you're a lot of work."

"If you don't want the job, then I'm sure Paul would be more than happy. You knew what the job entailed Jacob Nathaniel." I say as I put my hands on my hips. "You act like you absolutely have to do all of these things for me...it's just you being yourself Jake. You've always been too good to me."

"Except in the past couple of months..." Jake says and I pick up a potato that's on the cabinet and throw it at him. He catches it. "Why can't I stop being surprised by you always having something to throw near you?"

"Because, you've been out of my company for too long." I say and then sit down again. "If I get to know you better Paul, things will probably get thrown at you too. Right now...the bar is set at stuffed animals for Quil, things like potatoes at Jake, and then for Embry...well when I was super mad it was rocks, but I don't know him anymore...so.." I shrug. "If he did want to apologize to me though...I would sit and hear him out and then decide if I still don't want to have anything to do with him...You just can't throw away years of friendship like that...it isn't like he told me to go die. If he had though, I so would've jumped from the very top of the cliff just to spite him. I would've probably hit my head on the rocks and drowned and/or bled to death. Then he would feel like an ass."

"He does feel like an ass...and don't jump from the top of the cliff. That isn't safe." Paul says, looking worried.

"Why should I not? You do." I say with raised eyebrows. "That scenario was just in case Embry did tell me to go die. I know to jump out far enough so I don't hit my head."

"Just don't do it..." He pleads and I feel my eyebrows furrow together. Why should he care? It's not like I'm his problem.

"I haven't been near the beach for like three days." I say. "Quil said that I was the perfect size for a wolf snack."

"He would too." Jake says as he shakes his head. "Since you're afraid of them an all." He says and then I stand up.

"I am not afraid of wolves, Jacob Nathaniel Black! I think they are the second cutest woodland creature ever!" I exclaim, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Next to foxes!"

"Okay, okay." Jake says as he holds up his hands in surrender. I sit back down. "So, who was winning? You or Kirk."

"That cheating son of a bitch Kirk." I say bitterly before I even realize it. I then glare at Jake, and then realize that he doesn't know I'm all butterfly tummy filled about Paul. My heart picks up it's pace. It needs to quit that! "So yeah, earlier I thought Jacob was a rapist so I was ready to stab him with the barbecue fork thing." I say, quickly changing the subject. "Oh crap!" I say jumping up. "I forgot that I put the bananas in the freezer." I go to the freezer and take them out.

"Do I even want to know?" Jake asks and I turn around and look at him. I walk over with the bunch of bananas.

"Jake...do you realize how lethal a frozen banana could be? I put them in the freezer after you left, because you were able to break into my house so easily." I say, completely serious. He then laughs. I break a banana off and whack him over the head with it.

"Ow!" He complains, rubbing his head. "What was that for?" He asks and Paul just loses it. He looks like he's about to fall to the floor laughing.

"It was for laughing! What if after you left a rapist had broken into my house and I lost the barbecue fork? You'd just see my bloody corpse. I was smart and put the bananas in the freezer so I'd have something to defend myself with."

"Nah, no one would dare try to assault you. You have your bananas." Jake says and I whack him over the head again.

"Don't hate...I will so bring up embarrassing things in front of your new bff." I say waving the banana at him. "Like that one time when you stayed over and you were talking about..." I start and he covers my mouth. Paul just looks at us for a moment, and then starts laughing again. I lick Jake's hand.

"Your saliva no longer affects me...Tiger Lilly." He says and I bite his thumb. I bite down as hard as I can. "Ow! Ow! Okay! Okay!" He says and I let go.

"Do you remember what happened last time you got into the habit of calling me that?" I ask, my voice dropping into a menacing tone. He nods. "Good. So, can you guys hang out for a while or do you have to go?"

"We can probably stay for an hour." Paul says as he looks at the clock on the wall. "Why? What'd you wanna do?" I feel my face form into my favorite creeper smile.

"Dean Winchester." Jake says like it's a bad word. I give him a look and he shrugs. I down the rest of my 7-Up.

"Actually...Sam has been more appealing to me lately. I think it's the hair. It reminds me of the loss of yours and I guess I'm filling the void." I say as I stand up. "One episode'll never kill anyone." I say, and then think about it. "Okay, anyone not actually involved in the episode."

"I'm game." Paul says as he smiles and stands up. I lead the way into the living room and pick up the empty Twizzlers bags and throw them away while Jake sets up the DVD player and puts in the disk that has the last episode he saw on it. He'll never admit it to me, but he kind of likes Supernatural. I sit in my favorite spot on the couch and Paul and Jake take either side of me. It's about half way through the episode when I realize that Paul's arm is draped along the back of the couch and I feel my cheeks heat with blush and my heart speed up. What on Earth is wrong with me?


	4. Chapter 4

_**To start off...I know I have no excuse whatsoever to have kept you all waiting for chapter four all this time. I would like to beg your forgiveness though! I've worked hard on this chapter, and I hope that you enjoy it! I will try my hardest to continue updating somewhat regularly. It may be difficult though because I'm student directing a play and I have a tough senior schedule. I promise to try harder though! If you hate me, I understand, but don't make the story suffer! Enjoy! :D**_

_ The wolf walks towards me, licking it's chops in a way that would be comedic if it weren't me in this situation. I know that it may not be the best idea, but I start running. I hear the wolf chasing me and that makes me run faster. It doesn't take me very long to get out of breath since I'm not used to running for my life like this. I trip and the wolf's teeth sink..._

"Maria! Wake up!" A male voice demands and I sit up clinging to him, and crying. "It's okay..." He whispers in my ear, rubbing my back soothingly.

"Jake, what's going on?" Another male voice asks, sounding very dangerous. My arms tighten around Jake. That's why I didn't question my instinct.

"Paul, chill out." Jake demands, sounding very authoritative. I sit back and wipe my face, trying to wake up more. "If you can't, then you can wait outside. You're not doing this here."

"Whoa, guys calm down." I say, sounding very groggy. I stand up and Jake puts himself in front of me. "Jake, stop it you're being annoying. Paul, quit being a menstruating woman and tell us what your deal is." I say grumpily. It's quiet, and then they start laughing. "I don't see what's so funny." I say pointedly.

"Nothing, are you okay?" Paul asks, sobering up. I glare between the toy boys. "I'm serious, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lie and they both give me a look. "What? You guys never have bad dreams? It's been a long time since I've had one."

"Bull." Jake calls and I wave him off. "Anyway, you should probably get ready. It's almost lunch time."

"Yeah, yeah." I say grabbing the clothes I'd laid out last night and heading to the bathroom. Upon entering, I close the door and turn on the shower. As I wait for the water to warm up I look at myself in the mirror. I look like Hell. My eyes have dark circles under them and my hair is a mess. Continuing down myself, I lift my shirt and see my ribs. Jake was right yesterday...oh wait, I've already realized that. I turn away from my reflection, strip down, and hop into the shower. I wash my hair and my body before hopping out and doing a quick towel dry. I pull on my bra and underwear and then pull on my skinny jeans (which are too big now) and then a tank top before pulling Quil's hoodie over it all. I pull some of my hair back into a pathetic little pony tail and open the bathroom door. I hear the guys talking downstairs.

"I'm sorry Jake..." Paul says, sounding tired. "I have no clue what on Earth I'm doing. I expect one thing, then fate throws me a curve ball."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of Maria." Jake says, laughing a little. "You learn to expect the unexpected with her." I go back to my room and grab my cell phone and put it in my pocket before pulling on socks and tromping downstairs. "Hey Buttercup, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to take some headache medicine." I say going to the kitchen. "I knocked myself in the head real good last night." I grab the bottle of Aleve and dump two into my hand before grabbing a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water, and taking the medicine.

"What happened?" Paul asks, having followed me to the kitchen. I laugh. "Seriously, what happened?"

"Well, I have this lap desk thing and it's the same color as my comforter. It played ninja, and when I flopped onto my bed, I hit my head really hard." I say and he walks over and makes me look up at him. Before I can stop myself, I blush. "Uh Paul...I know I said you don't have to act like you don't know me, but uh..." I stammer out. He smiles at me, and touches the side of my face.

"Sorry." He says and then lets go of me. I quickly retreat out of the kitchen and to the front door where my boots are. Jake is giving Paul a look. I step into my boots.

"Coat." Jake says and I give him a look, putting my hands on my hips. "Mar, put your coat on." He says, sounding demanding.

"Jake, kiss my ass. I'm perfectly fine in this hoodie. You don't have a coat, so why should I wear mine? It's obviously not that cold out." I say defiantly.

"I don't have a coat because I'm beefier than you are, and I can stay warm without one. You're literally skin and bone, therefore you'll freeze before you get to the car." Jake counters.

"You are no fun, sir." I say as I pout and pull my coat on. I open the door and gesture them through. I feel for my key in my pocket, nod and lock the door and head out after the guys. I climb into the backseat, being used to it.

"You're not taking shot gun?" Paul asks as he climb into the seat. I smile a little and shake my head.

"No, Jake's my chauffeur. Well, when he's not busy or something. It's payment for me helping him pick clothes for when he hangs out with Bella, speaking of which Jakey, you really need help." I say looking at him.

"Sure, sure." He says with a roll of his eyes. He turns on the car and starts driving. "So, are you in the Spring show?"

"No, I don't know if I'm going to keep up with acting." I say and Jake hits the breaks and looks back at me. "Ow! What the Hell! Jacob!" I say holding my forehead, which I'd hit on his seat.

"Dude!" Paul also yells, sounding seriously pissed off. "Are you okay?" He asks, looking back at me with a worried expression.

"Yeah, I'm sure a double concussion is no big deal. Just keep driving, Jake. I'm giving up on acting because I'm not going to leave here. My mom needs me and I need her." I explain as I look at my big dummy.

"I'm sorry." Jake says as he continues driving. We get to a house and the boys hop out. Jake opens my door for me and I swing my legs around and look at the house. It's cute.

"Is...Embry here?" I ask, choosing to be grown up and not call him 'He Who Must Not Be Named', he isn't cool enough to be the Dark Lord anyhow.

"Not yet..." Jake says, not seeming to like the thoughts that come to his mind when he takes in my lack of reaction to that.

"Why don't I just pop in, say hello, then head back home then?" I say as I stand up out of the car.

"We'll see." Jake says as he closes the door and starts walking, directing me gently. We walk up the steps and I trip. He stops me from falling and I smile up at him sheepishly. "Try not to hurt yourself Mar, we kind of need you." Jake opens the door and gestures me inside. I hesitate.

"Oh for the love of...come in." Paul says as he walks over and gently leads me inside. "Maria, meet Sam, Emily, Jared and Kim." He says gesturing at everyone.

"It's nice to meet you." I say, sounding like a normal person. "Thank you for the meal yesterday, Emily. It was fantastic." I offer with a smile.

"Well, Jake was right. We need to get some meat on you. What possessed you..." She says and I can't help but laugh. "What?" She asks, and I can tell she's genuinely worried about me.

"I'm not anorexic or whatever you may be thinking. Food just hasn't been a top priority in my mind lately." I explain.

"Yeah, and she used to be a bigger fat kid than me." Jake says and I shoot him a look. "It's true." He says with a shrug.

"Jake, need I remind you of the time that you ate an entire batch of mac and cheese? It was disgusting." I say and everyone laughs. My cell phone rings, playing 'He's a Pirate', and I answer it to Margo screaming. I hold the phone away. "Quit bragging! I want one!" I exclaim over the screaming.

"It's fun teasing you though!" Margo says with a laugh. "Anyway, darling. I just wanted to let you know I bought you something." She says.

"Grrr. I'll get you back Puffin." I say. "But hey, I've got to go. I'll call you later Love, kisses." I say before hanging up. "Sorry, my best friend enjoys teasing me over the plethora of attractive men in Florida."

"Yuck Mar." Jake says as he ruffles my hair. "Anyway, would you mind sitting with Kim and Emily for a little while? Us guys promised we'd run some errands for her." He says and I shrug, I've never been shy.

"Alright, bring me some Twizzlers if you can? Quil was an Ass Clown and forgot." I say with a slight frown.

"Alright, but we're going to work on your candy problem...and Ass Clown?" He asks and I shrug, I've recently developed an obsession with Robert Downy Jr...and Iron Man.

"I don't have a problem." I say stubbornly. He just shakes his head and then leaves with the boys. "So...what do you two do for fun?" I ask, turning to them.

"I raise you two Twinkies and a Ding Dong." I say, tossing in the aforementioned goods. Emily looks between her cards and me before folding. I look to Kim, who also folds. "Yes!" I exclaim, bringing my loot to myself. "I'm happier than Leo DiCaprio when he won the tickets to the Titanic!" My cell phone suddenly rings and I answer it. "City Morgue! You stab 'em, we slab 'em! How may I help you today?"

"Hey Mar, what's up?" Jake asks and I look around for a moment then get a mischievous look on my face.

"Oh, you know...the usual. Playing strip poker with Emily and Kim. What about you?" I say nonchalantly and my two new friends laugh.

"You're so funny, anyway we're on our way back and I wanted to let you know that he's with us." He says...well warns me. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach and I get the sudden desire to run as fast as I can. "Mar?" Jake asks, sounding slightly concerned. "Hey, it'll be okay." He continues, and for some reason...I don't believe him.

"Yeah...well I've got to get back to my game. I'll see you soon." I say and then hang up, not waiting for a response. "They're on their way back." I relay the information. They look relieved.

"You know...Embry really is sorry for what he said to you." Kim says gently. I shrug and start shuffling the cards.

"Yeah...but when is enough, enough? I have to prioritize my happiness, I can't be constantly worried about which version of him I'm going to get that day." I say, definitely not sounding like myself. I shake my head and smile at them. "That's enough of that then...hmm what to do now?"

"Well, I need to start a batch of muffins." Emily says as she stands up. "You're more than welcome to help if you'd like." She offers and I feel some weird form of shyness creep into me.

"Nah...people tend to not trust me when it comes to cooking. I'm lucky they let me even make mac and cheese." I say, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Well I trust you, and I think that's enough." She says with a smile. I stand up and walk over and start helping. I don't even really notice when the guys get back.

"Hey Mar-Mar!" Jake exclaims and I jump ten feet in the air and land in a ninja pose. "Whoa there Michelangelo, no need to kill me."

"Oh, as if I could kill you. Leave me alone woman, can't you see I'm cooking?" I say gesturing to what Emily and I are doing.

"Well...I'm going to have to borrow Mar for a minute Emily." Jake says and she nods. I look between them before losing the color in my face.

"No. No. No. I'm not ready for that, please don't make me. I haven't had the time to mentally prepare myself, let alone physically prepare myself for what I know is going to be a not good situation." I say...and most of the words run together like I'm speaking some foreign language. Jake has known me long enough, though, to be able to understand me.

"Mar, it won't be bad. I'll be with you the entire time." Jake says as he gently puts an arm around me to lead me off. I take very small steps, definitely dragging my feet.

"Jake." I say, trying to turn on the charms so he won't make me. I glance around the room, looking for an ally, and my eyes fall on Paul. He meets my gaze and I quietly plead with him.

"Jake..." Paul says, looking between me and his friend. He stands up and walks over to us. "I'll come with too." There's no way I could out-run any of them...they're taller than me. I guess I could climb a tree faster than they can. We get outside and I see Embry standing by Jake's car. He looks up at me and...to put it lightly, he looks horrible.

"What the Hell, Maria?" He asks, probably referencing how skinny I am. I scowl, when are people going to stop talking about it?

"It's getting annoying...this whole people asking me 'what the Hell?', most likely in reference to my weight loss. So if you'll kindly shut the Hell up, Embry, I'd appreciate it greatly." I say, a bite to my tone. Jake laughs and I give him a look. He just shrugs.

"Well, how can I apologize if I'm not talking?" Embry asks walking forward. Jake nudges me forward and we head over to meet him.

"I don't know, you should be able to figure something out." I say. "You are obviously so great with words when it comes to tricky slash stressful situations. Oh, and not to mention when people get fed up with your shit. You hate being called out." I say, on a roll now. The bitch switch has been flipped. "Then obviously, years of friendship are nothing to you when you get mad. It's enough to call me fucked up when you know very well why I am the way I am. None of that matters, though. Right? If Embry isn't happy, then all of our lives should be Hell. I was told you're sorry, and you didn't mean it. Okay. The only person who can prove that is you."

"Well dang..." He says, looking to be very nonchalant, which only serves to severely tick me off. "I pissed you off enough to flip the bitch switch..." Suddenly, he's on the ground and Paul is beating the crap out of him. Jake picks me up and gets me out of there.

"What the Hell!? No!" I scream, trying to get out of Jake's hold. "You have to stop them!" I say, then get a real good look. Embry's not fighting back. "Jake!" I scream, still fighting.

"Paul. That's enough!" Sam says as he steps onto the porch. His tone holds a certain authority. Paul stops mid punch. From where I am, I can see that Embry's nose is bleeding. I finally break Jake's hold on me and run over to Embry. I shove Paul away and take his chin in my hand examining his nose.

"I think it's broken." I say, turning his head from side to side to get a better look at things. He reaches up and brushes away tears I didn't know I was crying.

"It used to be rare to see you cry..." He says, looking at me. I roll my eyes. "What?" He asks, seeming incredulous.

"Did you have to go and make this one of those gushy scenes? It's your fault I've turned into the stereotypical crying girl. You piss me off...but you're still my brother." I say and then hug him. He hugs me tight.

"I'm so sorry, Mar." He whispers. "You have every right to never speak to me again." He holds me tight, doing more of the comforting now due to the traumatic experience of seeing him get the crap beat out of him.

"Just shut up. I told you, you're my brother." I say, squeezing him hard for a moment. "Okay, now lets get you to the hospital." I say going to stand up. He stops me. "Embry, what are you doing?"

"Well...I can't tell you exactly what." He says and I stand up by myself, giving him my infamous narrowed eyes look.

"Question. Are you..." I take a deep breath. "kidding me!? I have half a right mind to go home, get Guadalupe and beat the living Hell out of you with him! I am so sick of your game playing! I was having a fantastic day! I was learning to cook! I have Jake back, and then you have to go and try to ruin it! Well you know what, Call!? You're not going to!"

"That's enough." Sam says, sounding authoritative again. I turn around slowly, my vengeance still a force to be reckoned with. He just stares back at me.

"I don't want to hear anything from you Sam Uley, I've been civil. They start hanging out with you and all of a sudden you think that you're their god or something? Well, if that's the way they feel, that's fine. I won't be ordered around by some jerk nugget!"

"Alright everyone, that's enough." Emily says, only sounding like she wants the tension to stop. "Sam, you don't have power over Maria. Embry, you shouldn't have said anything. Let's all just calm down and come back inside?"

"Thank you for teaching me some stuff Emily, but I think I'm going to go home." I say and turn around and start walking. It's not that bad.

"Look, if you're going to insist on walking, let me at least walk you." Paul says and I turn around, giving him a look. "Damn it." He mutters and then sighs. "Sam, can we tell her?"

"You can, you've known that for a while Paul." Sam says and Paul looks frustrated. "Jacob, Embry. Let's let them talk."

"I'll be right inside, Mar." Jake says, making eye contact with me. I believe him, for one reason or another, so I nod. Everyone heads inside but Paul and myself.

"Well?" I ask expectantly. "Are you going to tell me why you started hitting Embry?" I sit on the hood of Jake's car.

"I didn't like the use of the word 'bitch' when it was associated with you." He answers, walking over and sitting next to me.

"Well, if you haven't noticed...I am a bitch. Well...THE Bitch. My mother taught me from that if someone doesn't like me or something, to give them a reason not to." I explain. "The bitch switch is the 'physical' interpretation of a catalyst that starts me on a roll."

"Oh...well...I don't think you're a bitch." He says and I can't help but laugh. He smiles. "I'm sorry for upsetting you."

"You know, you're the only one who has directly apologized for upsetting me. Thank you for that." I say, definitely sounding like a normal person.

"It's hard to see you upset...because well, you're Maria Clark, you're weird and you're happy about it. You're just a happy person in general." He continues.

"Correction, I was a happy person in general. My general mood now is a mixture between miffed and sad. Quil and I agreed that the world is off it's axis. I've been trying to be weird, but it's like all the weird has been stolen from me." I say, shaking my head.

"Well...there has been a lot of weird around here lately. Well...I guess the best way to explain would be to start with the legends. You know them, of course." He says, internally smacking himself (I know the face). "Okay, so you know the spirit warriors, right?" He asks, looking at me. I nod slowly. "Well...we're shapeshifters...wolves."

"Okay...I hear you...I see your lips moving, so I know that you're speaking. What in the name of Dean Winchester?" I ask calmly. He chuckles.

"Do you believe me?" He asks and I give him the 'really?' look. "Okay...I don't trust myself to show you. So you're just going to have to take my word for it. Please?" He asks. "I mean, it's the reason why Jake and Embry left you. The same reason why I had to leave my friends. Quil's going to change too, it's only a matter of time."

"So wait...let me get this straight. My best friends are fluffy bundles of joy?" I ask and he really laughs. "I'm serious! Don't you laugh at me Paul Lahote!"

"Yes, they are." He says, between laughs. I mock glare at him. "I'm sorry." He says, struggling to keep a straight face. "Anyway...we're shapeshifters, and you're a special person to all of us now." He says standing up. He starts walking.

"Wait, Paul. What's so special about me?" I run to catch up with him. He doesn't stop. "Paul!" I grab his arm.

"It's nothing, you're just someone who we especially want to keep safe." He says, but I can tell that it isn't nothing. Should I drop it?

"From cold ones?" I ask, and he nods. "Oh, alright. Well, anyway I will find out what you're hiding Pauly." I then stop. "Wait a minute. Cold ones. Vampires." The memory of my dream from when we were at the drama competition comes back to me. "This is all real..."

"Yes...are you okay? You look sick." He asks and I nod, though I'm not really sure. He walks towards me and I hold out a hand to stop him. I turn away and throw up.

"At least you didn't throw up on him." Jake says as he sits next to me in the back seat. I refuse to go inside.

"Jake...shut up." I say, doing my best not to laugh. "Seriously though..." I look up at him, my eyes conveying what he needs to know.

"Your nightmare isn't going to happen. Your best friends are werewolves...I think we can take them." He says. "Now come inside, you need to eat something."

"Okay..." I say quietly. I open the door and climb out, Jake follows and we head inside. I do anything I can to avoid looking at Paul. Stupid weirdo butterfly tummy feelings. Wait a minute...this is how I used to get around Embry when I first started seeing him as a boy instead of just my idiot.

"How ya holdin' up?" Jared asks after receiving a jab in the ribs from Kim. I look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm fine...I blame Jacob." I say and he ruffles my hair. I laugh. "I'm not mad at anyone as of...actually that's a lie. I blame Susie Daniels. What. A. Nancy."

"What's a Nancy?" Jared asks and I feel a grin spread across my face. "I should prepare for something crazy."

"Yup!" I say cheerfully. "Well...I put it this way for my mom once. Would people rather me call someone a whore or a Nancy?"

"That's new, what brought that on?" Embry asks as he walks into the living area, face good as new.

"A conversation with Quil and Margo. You wouldn't be interested...Quil didn't even want to be there." I say, chuckling at the memory. "He says that there's two of me now. That's not true though, Margo and I are very different."

"How?" Jake asks dryly. I toss him a dirty look. "All I'm saying is that...Bella's here." He stands up. "We'll finish the story later, okay?" He says as he walks out the door.

"That's going to get annoying. Fluff nugget." I grumble, earning a few chuckles from my new friends.

"Hey, Mar-Mar! Think of it this way, you got a deal! Buy two, get six free! You know, because you've got some new friends and everything." Embry says, seeming excited by this thought.

"Bro...you just made yourselves sound like prostitutes. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, you can't handle all of this." I say, gesturing down at myself. "That is why you always get kicked out."

"No, I get kicked out because you're stubborn and enjoy giving me a hard time." He says and I give him my best unimpressed look.

"Anyway. I gained more than six friends out of all of this. The Clearwater boy and Margo are also my friends." I wave to Bella as she walks in. "Hey Bella, you've got a place in the normal nugget club." I give her a thumbs up.

"Uh, thanks." She says, sounding awkward as usual. I sigh...one of these days I will pull her out of that protective candy coating she has on herself. She's like an M&M.

"Earth to Mar-Mar." Embry says as he waves a hand in front of my face. I judo chop his arm and then hold my hand, frowning.

"Dude." Paul says, a warning in his tone. I give him my famous raised eyebrow look. "I mean...you should know that's her natural reaction by now."

"Funny, Paul's the nicest to me." I say giving Embry a look. "Jake's the blonde, and Embry just sucks eggs. Or something else. I'm still not convinced that you're straight by the way." I say looking at him.

"I'm not gay!" He says with a frown. "I'm as straight as an arrow." He says and I just give him my 'uh huh' look.

"If you're straight, then me questioning your sexual preference shouldn't bother you. Are you also not confident in your sexuality?" I ask with raised eyebrows.

"Owned!" Jared says offering me a high five. Too lazy to get up, I air-five him. "It is easy to own him though."

"He is supposed to be my personal slave for all eternity." I say, earning raised eyebrows from mostly everyone in the room.

"We were eight!" Embry exclaims and I shrug. "What? So pinky promises are binding contracts?"

"Hell yeah they are!" I exclaim. "Embry Ryan, pinky promises are the most sacred of all promises. That isn't what I was referring to though. When we were seven, you forgot about my birthday and promised to be my man slave forever."

"Well yeah, that's when we were always married when you made us play house." Embry says and I shrug.

"Ironically enough, Jake was our puppy." I say, chuckling. "My cute little fluffy buddy." I say sending him a cutesy look. Bella smiles a little and laughs. "So she does laugh!" I say jumping up in an 'in your face' manner. "Good, because I was starting to think I wasn't funny."

"Oh, you're funny." She says, almost apologetically. I smile my thanks and sit back down. Jake leads Bella to the couch and sits down as well. I lean my head back and stare up at the ceiling.

"Are you okay?" Paul asks, walking over and sitting next to me. Everyone is pretty much absorbed in their own conversations. I refuse to look at him.

"Yeah, just tired. Sorry for freaking out earlier." I say, even though I generally don't apologize for being me...I generally don't freak out though...hmm. I guess there's a first for everything.

"It's alright...it's a lot to take in. Jacob's right though, we'd never let anything happen to you." He insists, sounding like he's trying to make eye contact with me. I'm being difficult though. I'm trying to not be embarrassed, but it's kind of impossible. I threw up...that's just nasty.

"I know...but it's still scary. What if one time you didn't get there in time? What if I were being difficult and wandered off on my own to...oh say the woods near the river?" I say, referencing my dream.

"Don't be difficult then." He says, being totally serious. "I know that'll be tough on you, but you can do it." I give him a look. "Okay...just stay near me and nothing will happen to you."

"Oh, because I can be attached to you at the hip at all times." I say with a roll of my eyes. "I'm not even with Quil that often and he sees the most of me."

"Well, I guess we're just going to have to become best friends too." He says, looking at me seriously.

"You don't want in on that kind of commitment. I made Quil sign a friendship contract. There's a clause that states that he can't not love me, no matter what. I believe it's called the 'No Way Out' clause." I say then think. "Huh...I should make Embry and Jake sign it too. I need to add some new clauses though...my life just gets more and more complicated."

"What do you know about complicated?" Jared asks, earning the glares from me and three other men in the room.

"My dad died when I was a little girl. Two of my life long best friends abandoned me for a while. My mother must work constantly so we can make ends meet, and I have to put up with idjits like you who ask me what I know about complicated." I say simply. I face my problems realistically...I just choose to ignore than outwardly. "On top of that, I have the fear that I'm not going to get into a good enough college when the time comes and I won't be able to support my mother like I always promised when I was little. I fight to keep the number one rank in our class so that I'll have the attention of colleges when they're passing out scholarships." I shrug. "So, that's just a look. Since you were curious."

"Excuse Jared, he can be an idiot sometimes." Sam says giving him a look. "He looks at his situation as more complex than a 'regular' student's. Most of the guys do, actually."

"I suppose going furry would be complicated, but it's not the only complicated." I say with a shrug, not really offended. "I wouldn't expect anyone to know what I go through, because I kind of don't like broadcasting it. I also try to keep quiet about my smarts because jocks are annoying when they ask smart people to do their homework."

"Yeah, Mar's a genius actually. As hard as that may be to believe." Embry says and I glare at him. He smiles. "We all know you're going to get into like Harvard or somewhere like that."

"Idjit, you know I don't want to go to Harvard." I say, matter-of-factly. "Stanford would be cool, but I was just thinking State."

"What would you like to study?" Emily asks as she comes out of the kitchen with a plate of muffins. I smile.

"Well...I want to study psychology. Eventually I might decide become a counselor, but I don't know." I say with a shrug. "I'll just have to see where the chips land."

"Oh! Mar, remind me later. I bought Kirk a brother." Embry says as he snaps and points at me. I raise an eyebrow. "He looks exactly like him, I swear."

"I don't trust your opinion Princess." I say in passing. Everyone looks confused and I fight my laughter.

"What's with the whole Princess thing?" Paul asks, stepping up to the plate. I get my mischievous smile on my face.

"I am so happy that you asked my dear friend. You see, explanation about something that's none of y'alls bid-ness." I say smartly. "That's between me, Margo, and Quil. Oh, and the Clearwater boy's somewhat in it...but I think I scare him."

"Oh, he's in love with you." Jared supplies me with the information. "I heard him talking the other day about how beautiful you are." I raise my eyebrow.

"Okay...he must have me mixed up with someone beautiful. Pretty...superbly awesome...god-like, I'll accept." I say, shaking my head.

"Good to know..." Paul says and then catches himself. He looks away from me, and I hear Jared snicker a bit.

"Okay...I feel like there's a loop and I'm not in it. So I'm going to jump in and knot everything up." I say looking around. "What's the deal?" Everyone looks uncomfortable. "Or we could all ignore the noob, that's cool too."

"All in good time my dear." Embry says and I narrow my eyes at him. "Now's just really not a good time. We've got sort of a big problem." He announces and my eyes must go wide. "We'll be okay though! Gah, I'm an idiot."

"Yeah, you are." Paul says, looking severely pissed off. "Hey," He says, turning to me. "You're going to be okay."

"It's not me I'm worried about. I don't want some bitch killing any of you." I say, being totally honest. "I may not have known you, Sam, and Jared as long as Jake and Embry, but you're friends now."

"We'll be safe, you just focus on keeping yourself safe." Sam says. "That goes to say you're more than welcome to spend time here over break."

"Alright." I say, going quiet. Anyone who knows me, knows that when I go quiet...I'm not really okay with something. It generally means I'm depressed, pissed off, or I have a really bad feeling about something.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter five! I'm so happy to present this and it hasn't been months since the last update! Given it has taken longer than I intended...never the less, it is here! This chapter shows the more...'normal' side to Maria. It holds a lighter mood I think, and I felt that's what this story has needed. Anyway I hope that you enjoy!**_

"It's Slender Man!" I scream, practically jumping into Jacob's arms like Scooby Doo. He gives me a look. "I thought it was..."

"We can't leave you alone for five minutes without you finding something to scare yourself silly." He says and I offer a sheepish smile. "Now, will you please stop screaming before Paul has heart failure."

"Paul is perfectly fine...and I blame Margo...so neah." I say as I stick out my tongue at my friend.

"What is Slender Man?" Embry asks and I shudder involuntarily. It's cold and we're **walking** to Emily's house. I was outraged when I made this discovery, but hey...I've got three beef cakes protecting me.

"Slender Man is an urban legend...but he steals the souls of children...and Quil said I acted enough like a child he'd probably come after me." I say, trying to keep the whine out of my voice. "Quil has been mean to me...first he tells me I'm the perfect size for a wolf snack and now I'm going to lose my soul."

"Nah, you're too boney for a wolf snack." Embry says and I stick my tongue out at him. "Anyway, it sounds bogus."

"You've never played the game." I say eerily. "I have it on my flash drive if you're interested." I say, rubbing my arms for warmth. Paul takes off his jacket and drapes it around my shoulders. "Good God man, it's like this was just pulled from the dryer." I say as I relish the warmth. I look over at Embry and snicker, he's carrying the hot pink backpack of shame I make them carry when I travel and they've pissed me off. Normally, I don't like pink stuff that much. "Oh! Emily's teaching me to make waffles in the morning! Mom could go away for a week and I'd never starve!"

"Good for you, Mar." Jake says with a slight chuckle. "You'll have to make some for me." He says and I pout.

"You're always too busy spending time with your not-girlfriend. You guys 'grow up' and you're too good to spend time with Maria. She's too cool for us so we have to go find nuggets." I say, using my man voice towards the end.

"Hey, I thought you liked Bella." Jake says and I shrug. I do like the girl...but I don't like how Jake is so attached. She's obviously still in love with her ex boyfriend. I'm worried that she's going to hurt him.

"She's alright, but there's something off. I can't place my finger on it, but you know I'm always right." I say pointing at him. "Last time any of you questioned my intuition...we won't talk about it." I say, remembering the presence of Paul. I may blab a lot, but I have enough sense to not bring up things from within the circle.

"So, what is telling you to question my sexuality? Your intuition or how pissed off you are?" Embry asks and I look at him.

"Well...I always thought that if any of you were to turn out gay it would be Quil, but he's a lot more manly than you are." I say and Embry gawks at me. "Real men listen to Dixie Chicks with you for hours on end. Margo and I adore him for that. Okay...I don't **adore** him because he's a nugget, but he's Quil. He's the not gay 'gbf'."

"'Gbf'?" Paul asks and I look to Embry, not really feeling like explaining myself. I've been lazy since I regained my man slave.

"Gay best friend...so wait if he's the not gay-gay best friend...does that make me the gay best friend?" He asks.

"That depends, if I asked you how my ass looks in these jeans, would it mean a thing to you?" I ask and he gives me a look. "You're a stranger to me now, Princess. You don't even know my favorite band."

"False, it's Dixie Chicks." He says and I shake my head. The silly nugget, thinking he can just pick it up from what I've said.

"Nope, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. You wouldn't know about them, though. They're a band from Indianapolis. That's in Indiana, in case you didn't know." I say, like I'm an expert on geography.

"I have never heard of them." Embry says, trying to think of all the strange things I've listened to.

"Yeah...their music's kind of depressing sometimes, but I like it. It's calm and...well...hmm I don't know how to describe it actually." I say and then almost trip. Two people catch either of my arms. I grin sheepishly at Jake and he rolls his eyes at me.

"Be more careful, huh?" Paul says and I shrug. We reach Emily's house and head inside. I waltz into the kitchen.

"Emily, I'm home." I say and she smiles and hugs me. "Oh, and Jake threatened to sit on me." I say and she gives him a look.

"She wouldn't get out of bed." He says with a shrug. She chuckles and rolls her eyes at him. "She had Paul hit me, so we're good."

"I just said 'someone hit him' and Paul happened to respond first. He earned my favorite person of the day award." I say and Paul holds up the plastic medal.

"Doesn't a hug come with that award?" Embry asks and I shoot him a dirty look. He just smiles at me and sets the hot pink backpack of shame down on the couch.

"Come on, you're not scared of me are you?" Paul asks and my dirty look to Embry transfers to Paul, becoming a 'challenge accepted' look and I walk over and give him a great big hug. He seems shocked at first, but he wraps his arms around me and picks me up in a bear hug.

"No fair! I can't pick you up!" I exclaim, hating being the poorest hugger in the room. He just laughs and sets me down gently. "You treat me different from everyone else." I say as I pout.

"You're right. If I treated you like I treat everyone else, you'd be pissed off all the time." He says, which is a true statement. I roll my eyes. "See? You're already irritated by me."

"Everyone is irritated by you, Paul." Jared says and then they start rough housing. I make a face.

"Hey! Knock it off you two before I pop a cap in yo asses!" I exclaim and then look to Emily who nods approval. I fold my arms across my chest and nod, satisfied.

"Whoa...is Emily training you?" Jared asks and I shrug. "I hope not, because Emily can be scary...and you're weird to boot." Paul pretty much growls at him.

"Down Fido, if being called weird bothered me...I would've transferred to Forks High a long time ago." I say honestly. "Regardless of it's occupants...because even though the thought of vampires scares the bejeebers out of me...meh."

"I-We would never let vampires hurt you." Paul says, staring intently into my eyes. I shudder suddenly. What is with me lately? I wasn't even this girly when I liked Embry.

"As if they'd even try...I probably taste weird. Or like Twizzlers. That damn Quil still hasn't bought me my forty-five bags." I say, puffing out my cheeks in agitation. Paul smiles, sort of serenely and pats my head. "Hey, I am not a dog. Don't pat my head."

"Sorry." He says and I shrug. I suppress a yawn and I know that I look funny. I always do when I do that. "Why don't you go ahead and get some sleep?"

"Because, everyone's here and when I stay the night here I sleep on the couch. You know that..." I say and he shrugs.

"I'll keep watch and make sure no one bothers you." He promises. "You're exhausted, go ahead."

"I agree." Emily says as she picks up my backpack from where Embry left it. "Go change and I'll get your pillow and blankets." She says and I sigh and take the backpack.

"You're worse than my mother." I say and she laughs. I go to the bathroom and change into my pajamas. Black yoga pants with my favorite pink long sleeved pajama shirt. I pull my monster claw slippers out of the bag and step into them before neatly folding my clothes and packing them up. I exit the bathroom and head back out to the living room.

"Nice slippers." Paul says and I look at my feet and shrug. I sit down on the couch and stretch. "Lay down." He commands and I raise an eyebrow at him. "Jake and Embry left and I told them I'd tuck you in for them." He says with a slight smirk on his face.

"Naw, it's cool dawg." I say as I lay down and pull the covers over me. "You don't have to stand watch...It's fine." I say as I look up at him.

"It's cool, dawg." He says copying me, and then looks around. "You wanna watch a movie or something?" He asks and I shrug.

"You can choose whatever. I am kind of tired." I say and he goes over and puts a movie in before sitting on the floor in front of me. I turn onto my stomach and hug the pillow. This is the only way I've found I can sleep as of late...cuddling something. I fall into that weird state when you're kind of asleep, but you can hear what's going on around you. Half asleep?

"She's asleep, be quiet." Paul says in a hushed tone. That's nice of him...telling whoever just came back to shut up.

"Paul...you're going to have to tell her at one point or another." Sam says, his tone also hushed. "She's going to start wondering why you act like you do around her."

"She already does." Emily pipes in quietly. "Paul...Sam is right. She deserves to know." What do I deserve to know?

"I don't want to freak her out..her best friends already turn into giant wolves." Paul says, sounding irritated. Not necessarily at Sam or Emily though.

"We know, but she'll be able to handle it. She's a very strong girl." She says gently. "Why don't you try and get some sleep too? Embry said he'd take over your patrol for tonight."

"Alright.." He says and I hear him settle down on the floor beside me again. I feel him push my hair out of my face. He settles down and I hear his breathing even out as he falls asleep.

I sit up fast and my head rushes. I fall back on my pillow and groan quietly to myself. The gray morning light filters through the curtains and the smell of breakfast fills my nose. I look to my left and see couch wall...I'm at Emily's. Duh. I look to my right and see black hair...Paul. He must have fallen asleep while watching the movie last night. I look over and see the TV screen is black now. Emily or Sam must have turned it off before they went to sleep.

"Paul?" I whisper, poking his head. He murmurs something. "What?" I ask gently. He doesn't respond. "Paul?" I poke his head again.

"Mmmm." He quietly groans, pulling me out of my spot and into his arms. Still totally asleep. "Better." He murmurs with a sigh. I look around, unsure of what to do. I'm in pajamas...hugged to the stark naked chest of someone I get butterflies in my tummy over. Good God, why are you so cruel to me? His arms tighten around me for a moment. "Maria? What are you doing?"

"I was coming up with an escape plan..." I say, pushing my hair out of my face. "I was trying to get you to move so I could get up, but you pulled me off the couch." I think for a moment. "Could you consider that assault?"

"That depends, how comfortable are you?" He asks and I gauge my comfort. The butterflies are swimming in my stomach and my heart rate is slightly accelerated.

"Well...I'm not used to having man boobs in my face..." I say, oh so very eloquently. "I guess I'm not uncomfortable."

"Then it isn't assault." He says and I nod. Wait a minute! I look up at him and he's smirking innocently at me. "Hey, you're the one who hasn't tried to move."

"Really? You're like ten times bigger than me...if I tried to move it wouldn't work." I say and he raises his eyebrow at me.

"You're the one who didn't eat anything." He says and I give him one of my irritated looks. He just laughs.

"When I'm all by myself I don't think about food really. Anyway, it wasn't my fault. I blame Embry Ryan and Jacob Nathaniel." I say, looking away almost sadly. "It was hard without them...they've been all that I've had since I was a little girl. Of course my mom, but it's not the same."

"You really do need them all...don't you? All three of them." He says and I nod, being totally honest.

"Jake is the one I talk to when I get depressed. Quil's the teddy bear and Embry's just always been there...he once almost killed a guy for getting fresh with me." I say and then shake my head. "Anyway, I talk to Jake about my dad...and Billy is like a dad to me."

"Billy's a pretty good guy." Paul agrees with a nod. "I'm sorry though..." He says and I look up at him in question. "That you're suffering more than you show."

"Oh, I try not to show it at all. I guess there are worse things...I mean he died when I was little." I say, and I know my boys would be looking at me like I'm crazy. I barely ever talk about dad. "From what I remember...he was great. He and mom were so in love...I know it kills her, but we've got each other."

"You're close with your mom, huh?" He says and I smile and nod. "That's good...my parents got a divorce when I was a kid so I moved here with my dad."

"I'm sorry." I say and he shrugs. "I guess it's a good thing you've got me and Emily in your life to keep you in line." I say and he smiles.

"Yeah...otherwise I'd probably be pretty wild." He says and I laugh. "What? You don't think I could be wild?"

"I think you could be, but I just don't see it. Then again...my version of wild is jumping off of the top of the cliff screaming 'I do believe in fairies'." I say thoughtfully and he laughs.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a pretty girl?" He asks me and I blush. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

"No." I answer honestly in a small voice. "I mean yeah...but it was Jake...and Billy's told me I'm a pretty girl. They're family though...so I don't think it counts." I babble.

"Well you are." He says, not helping my blush at all. "Just relax..." He says and I try, relaxing my shoulders. My heart's still going pretty crazy. "You still look pretty tired, why don't you try to get some more sleep."

"Because...I feel bad sleeping all day when I stay over here. Emily does a lot of work and I feel like I should help her." I say, suppressing my yawn.

"She'll want you to rest..if you don't you could get sick." He says, sounding legitimately worried about my health. "I could turn on a movie..." He suggests.

"Alright..." I say, my voice barely a whisper. What has come over me? This feeling is so weird...it's like...bliss. Why am I so...happy? He stands up, holding me bridal style and lays me on the couch and covers me up again. He goes over and turns on the TV and puts in a movie. My eyes follow him, trying to size him up. What is it about Paul Lahote? From what I've heard in the past he was kind of an asshole, but he's so nice to me it doesn't make any sense.

"What?" He asks as he walks over and sits down next to me again. I shake my head and pretty much hide my face in the covers. "What?" He asks again, laughing a little.

"Nothing, why don't you sit on the couch? The floor can't be comfortable." I say, curling up in a ball to make room for him.

"I'm fine right here." He says and I make a face at him. He just laughs, seeming totally at ease. "Besides, if I sat all the way down there I wouldn't be able to see your face."

"My face really isn't that great." I say my blanket hiding my blush. "It's kind of weird, you might catch something like Ugly if you get too close."

"Impossible." He says, shaking his head. I roll my eyes. "First after we tell you Seth is in love with you, you say that he must have you confused with someone amazing and then agree, but when I call you beautiful you deny it. Why is that?"

"You called me pretty." I correct and he gives me a look. "Why is it that you always question my reasons? You can read Jake and Embry's minds. You should know better by now than to question my motives. I'm like God, I work in mysterious ways."

"Okay, so you're a goddess now?" He asks and I shrug. He just laughs. "Maria, the Goddess of what?"

"Pretty much everything really...I'm an up and coming religion. The damn holy meatball's got me beat right now though." I say bitterly. He laughs. "I'm serious...it's called Pastafarianism. They believe in a flying spaghetti monster as their savior." He stares at me for a moment.

"You're incredible." He says and I roll over, pulling my covers over my head. As much as I like hearing this...it's sort of scary. For the longest time the only guy I've liked is Embry and now that's gone and Paul came literally out of nowhere. "All I mean is I don't know another girl who would know something like that."

"You haven't met Margo." I say, still hiding. "She's pretty grand." I say trying to get the conversation off of me. "She and I have like the same brain."

"I'm pretty sure you're one of a kind...yeah you guys may be similar, but the mold probably broke after you were made." He says and I peek out at him. "I just realized how that sounded like I meant it in a bad way, but I didn't."

"Paul...can I ask you something about wolves?" I ask and he nods, his face growing serious. "Alright...so aside from turning into giant puppies...you guys are really warm, strong, and fast." I say and he nods. "So...Sam and Emily...are they like the chief and his third wife?" I ask and he gulps slightly.

"Yeah...that's called imprinting." He says and I must look confused. "Want me to explain?" He asks and I nod. "Alright...so you've heard of love at first sight, right?" He asks, looking at me and I nod again. "Alright, so it's kind of like that...but when you see her for the first time it's like all the air's been sucked out of your lungs and she's suddenly your oxygen...you need her in your life or it isn't even worth living." He sounds almost like he's talking from experience. "There's just so much adoration and love...it's almost maddening."

"You sound like you know the feeling..." I note quietly. "If you have imprinted...she's a lucky girl." I say gently. "You're caring and warm...even though you may seem rough around the edges."

"I'm glad someone thinks so." He says and pulls the covers back from my face. "Why were you asking?"

"Because...I was just curious. Sam seems to love Emily a lot and I think that's a good thing." I say, trying to reclaim my shelter. "Give me back my blanket." I whine. Embry then enters the room. "Thank God! Embry tell him."

"Leave her be, man." He says, being easy going. Good ol' Embry...always got my back. Paul lets go of the blanket and I hide. "Mar-mar, what are you doing?" He asks, laughing.

"I'm developing my night vision eyes." I say, confident in my words. "Don't listen to Paul, he's crazy."

"I'm crazy?" He asks with a slight laugh, but there's something off about his voice. I want to say hurt, but that's not necessarily it.

"Yes, we're all mad." I say, not coming out of my hiding spot. I groan then. "I'm too awake to sleep any more."

"Then why don't we get you some breakfast?" Embry asks, sitting down on the edge of the couch and pulling back my blanket. "I'll get it for you. Still the same preferences?" He asks and I nod. "Alright, we'll be back with it." He says as he stands up and pulls Paul out of the room. I hear the sound of glass breaking and spring up and run to the kitchen. Embry is pushed against the wall.

"Paul! What the Hell!?" I yell, putting on my outraged face. "Put Embry down right now." I demand and Paul backs off. Where in the name of cats is Emily? Was Embry the one cooking breakfast? There have been stranger things... "What on Earth is going on?" I ask, sounding like my mother.

"It's nothing." Embry says, rubbing his neck a little bit. He watches my face. "Don't you dare even think that."

"What else am I supposed to think?" I ask, dread making it's way onto my face. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"Thanks Hermione." Embry says, rolling his eyes at Paul. Giddiness can't keep it's way off my face and I run over and hug him.  
>"You need to watch the sequel...it's the reason I want to learn to bake." I say and he looks at me funny. "So I can sing, 'I'm Betty freakin' Crocker!'. It'll be accurate." Jake walks in. "Jake! He remembers A Very Potter Musical! There's hope!" I say as I pretty much jump into his arms.<p>

"That's great Mar." He says with a tired smile. I frown then. "What?" He asks and I give him the 'you know exactly what' look.

"You're tired, you should sleep." I say as I take his arm and attempt to pull him to the couch. He resists. "Jacob, we all know how cranky you get when you don't get enough sleep. I'm not going to have you blowing your chances with Bella by being a total sleep depraved douche bag."

"Mar-mar, I'm fine. I promise." He says and I size him up and then take out my cell phone. "What are you doing?"

"I'm telling Dad." I say as I pull up the contact. Jake takes my phone. "Hey! Paws off, jerk!" I say as I reach for it and he holds it up so I can't reach. "So, we're really doing this now?" I ask and he puts it in his pocket. "You act like that derails my attempts." I say as I reach for his pocket. He grabs my wrists, and I glower at him. "Jacob." I whine.

"Come on man, lay off." Embry says walking over to us. "She's just worried about you..." He says and I nod.

"She should be worried about you too, two all nighters in a row." Jake says and then regrets it. I stop my struggles for my phone.

"Embry Ryan Call." I say as I turn around slowly to look at the idiot. I take in his features...his eyes have bags under them. "Go lay your ass down and sleep right now before I go home, get Guadalupe, and knock you out."

"Mar...it's really useless to worry about it...we're used to staying up all night." Jake says, trying to be the calming factor.

"And here Paul is going on about me getting sick from lack of sleep. I'm like a freaking sloth with how much I sleep and here you guys are staying up for days!" I rant. "You know what? Fine! If you guys are just going to make Maria worry, she's not going to give two rats asses!" I exclaim and then stomp out of the kitchen. "Better yet! I'm going to help Quil!" I say and then stomp towards the door.

"Mar...at least wait until at least ten..." Paul says as he stands in the doorway. "And...wear jeans and your coat...and shoes." I look down at my monster clawed slippered feet.

"Also, no power tools please." Embry pipes in and I walk over so I can glare at him. "We know what happened last time you used a power saw."

"I do what I want." I say and he looks horrified. "You act like I'm some kind of a monster that destruction follows."

"Just when you try to use power tools...it's really for your own protection. Did you really enjoy having stitches?" Embry asks, knowing very well the answer.

"Okay, so why don't you not help Quil and stay here today?" Paul asks and I narrow my eyes at him. "Come on...throw me a bone."

"Your use of my kind of humor towards your situation was ineffective." I say, trying my hardest to keep my mouth from twitching with my suppressed laughter.

"So...you're telling us that no matter what dog humor we use, you aren't going to find it funny?" Embry asks, getting ideas.

"Nope. Not one bit." I say stubbornly. What have I gotten myself in to? They all three grin to each other. "When Emily gets back, I am so telling." I say as I put my hands on my hips and then dive under my blanket, curling into a compact ball. The three of them pile around me. "No!" I complain. I hear the front door open. "Someone help me! I think Embry is sitting on me, I'm going to get crushed!"

"What are you guys doing?" Emily asks, her voice sounds amused. No Emily, this isn't funny. Whoever was sitting on me gets off.

"We're trying to make her laugh." Paul says, and I can practically hear the shrug on his tone. "Also, we don't want her using power tools and she said that she was going to...and yeah. No."

"You're not my mom, Paul. If you say 'I could be', I will smack you or have one of the other guys do it because it would hurt me, but don't insult my mother that way." I say from my shelter.

"Are you callin' me ugly?" He asks and I poke half of my head out. I focus my mischievous look into my eyes.

"I didn't say it." I say and he looks at me for a moment and then begins tickling me. As I start struggling, my foot makes contact with something.

"You know...that kind of hurt." Embry says and Paul and I look at him holding his cheek. "You kicked me in the face."

"I told you I would one day. Now, I'll be sorry about it if you help me." I say and then Paul starts tickling me again. "I'm going to kill you!" I exclaim as I try to grab his hands. Then I get an idea. "Ow!" He stops immediately.

"I'm so sorry." He says, sounding totally freaked out. "Are you alright? Where do you hurt?" He continues.

"Chill out, dawg." I say as I sit up. Then realization hits me and I feel it hit my I see Embry give Jake a look.

"Oh God, what did you just realize?" He asks and I give him my creeper smile. "Mar...it better not be anything too crazy...or creepy."

"It isn't...it's just that...you guys are sort of the The Incredible Hulk." I say and they groan, like I'm killing them. "You get pissed off and turn into giant monsters."

"Whoa, watch the use of the 'm' word, it makes Paul kind of upset." Jake says and I look to Paul. He looks more sad than anything.

"That's a general use of the word. I don't mean like a monster I'm afraid of. I love Bruce Banner." I say, hiding my anxiousness. I don't want to upset Paul. "Don't be mad at me!" I exclaim as I throw my arms around his neck like I would Jake or Embry. My heart is racing, I blame it on adrenaline and how much I was laughing just a moment ago. "I'm going to go and help Emily." I say as I get up and practically run away. I slip though, and fall on my butt. "I'm fine..." I say weakly as I stand up and continue into the kitchen. I plop down at the table and put my head down. Why does making a fool of myself bother me now?

"Emily, we're gonna go and get that thing for you." Jake calls out and they leave. Emily walks over and sits at the table with me.

"I know this pose, it's the contemplating life pose. What's on your mind?" She asks me and I sit up, pushing my hair out of my face.

"So...I think I like..." I stand up and look out the window. The guys are nowhere to be seen. I go and check the living room. No one's there. I listen closely and hear no one else throughout the house. I go back to the kitchen and sit down. "Paul." I whisper very softly. "It's confusing though...because I don't understand why...It's like...when he's around there isn't anything that I can't do because I know that I'm safe." I say, trying to understand these feelings. "Now I sound obsessive. Damn it." I put my head down. Emily puts a hand on my shoulder and I look at her.

"Well...if you like him...ask him out on a date." She says and I look at her like she's crazy. "Why not?"

"One, because we all know that despite my bravado I'm the biggest chicken shit around." I say, being totally honest with myself. That's how you know when things are bad. "And two...what if he says no? I'll look like a total dork and I'll never be able to show my face around here again, and I like hanging out with you." We hear a knock at the door. "I'll get it." I say and go to the door. I open the big door. "Mom?"

"Hey Sweetie." My mother says, looking tired. I let her in and we go to the kitchen. "Good morning, Emily." She says pleasantly.

"Melanie, good morning." Emily says with her signature smile. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" She asks.

"That would be fantastic." Mom says and I pull out a seat for her and she sits down. "Thanks, baby." Emily brings the coffee and she drinks it the way she always does, black. "Thank you so much, Emily."

"Is everything alright, Mom?" I ask as I sit down, angling my chair towards her. Normally she's loud and...well like me.

"Being totally honest with you..." She says, taking one of my hands. "no..." I know my face contorts into worried in a millisecond. "Aunt Staci is very sick and she says that she's fine, but I want to go and stay with her until she gets better."

"Why do you seem so sad about that? Aunt Staci needs you, and I'm fine now." I promise, taking my mothers hand in both of mine. "Mommy, just do what you need to. I'm old enough to stay home by myself."

"That's the thing...I don't know how long it will be. So I wanted to ask you, Emily, if you would mind looking after Maria while I go to Virginia." She says and then takes another drink of coffee. "I thought about this for a long time."

"I'm honored that you thought of me." Emily says with a smile. "I wouldn't mind at all. I already count Maria as part of my extended family anyway."

"Thank you so much." My mom says, so much worry seeming to come off of her face. "It's not that I don't trust you, Bug, but I know how you don't like staying all by yourself."

"I understand." I say, and I really do. "You look like you haven't slept a wink." I note and she gives me a sheepish look. "Mom, I'm going to kick your butt."

"I've been making arrangements." She says and I nod. "Like, you now have a bank account." She says and I raise my eyebrow. "Yeah, I've known that we could do that, but I didn't want you going crazy. I trust that you're old enough to be responsible, though." She reaches in her purse and pulls out her wallet and produces a bank card. "This is yours. It goes towards school stuff and you have an allowance on personal purchases."

"Yes ma'am." I say giving her a salute and she gives me the card. I set it down. "Wow...this is going to be fun." I say, trying to be strong. I've never been away from my mom for more than...two days. She smiles and stands up.

"Yes, and you're to help Emily out as much as you possibly can." I nod and we stand up with her as well. "We're going to get your license today."

"Really!?" I shriek and hug her. I thank her a million times. I've been begging since I've been able to get them, but she's just been so busy.

"Yes." She says, laughing a little bit. "Only because I want you to keep the car. You can't rely on Jake to drive you everywhere for the rest of your life. Why don't you go and get ready? I want to talk to Emily."

"Alright." I say, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She squeezes me and I go and grab my bag and head for the shower.

"Hey Jake." I say, giving him a devious look as he enters. I notice Bella not far behind him. "You know how I told you I would start running over people I hate when I got my driver's license?"

"Yeah..." He says and I hold my up license. "Oh God, who gave this woman a license?" He asks, gesturing towards me with his thumb.

"I did...well technically the state did." Mom says as she walks into the living room. We're leaving in half an hour so I can drop her off at the air port...in Seattle. "Hey Jakey." She says and she gives him a hug. "Who's this?"

"Melanie Clark, Bella Swan." He introduces. "Bella is Charlie Swan's daughter." He says and Mom nods her understanding.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella. I'm Maria's mother...if that weren't already obvious." She says with a laugh.

"Yeah...Maria's great." Bella says with a slight smile towards my mother. She's not too bad...I would approve of her for Jake. He's almost got her too...she at least smiles when he's around. She's always worried about the vampire though...the one that's after her.

"Let me see that." Jake says as he swipes my license. "Wait...you have to get glasses?" He asks and I hide my face.

"Shut up!" I say, sounding ticked off but I'm not really. Actually...I went to the eye doctor a week ago and my glasses should be in soon.

"She has to go and pick them up tomorrow." Mom says and I groan. "You look beautiful in them, so shut up."

"You shut up." I grump and she gives me a look. "Look here, lady." I say and then we laugh. I hop up and give her a hug.

"Mrs. Clark..." Paul says, seeming surprised as he enters the house. He looks like he would rather hide than be here. That's weird.

"Hello Paul, I thought I told you to call me Melanie." She says and if he were a dog, his tail would be between his legs. "Anyway, girly we'd better go and get the rest of your stuff."

"Stuff?" Paul asks, looking at my mom and then me. I stand up and snatch my license away from Jake before tucking it into my wallet and then putting that back into my purse.

"Yeah, I'm staying here while my mom goes to take care of my Aunt Staci in Virginia." I explain, standing next to her.

"We're finally getting her to sleep in the guest bedroom." Emily says as she comes to stand with us.

"Yup." Mom says as she ruffles my hair. "We'll be back in a few." She says, and we exit the house. "He's cute." She whispers and I groan.

"Mom, shut up." I say as I slide into the passenger's seat. She gets in and starts the car. Once we're on our way, I deem it safe to talk. "He is...kind of cute, isn't he?"

"Oh, absolutely. So Paul...Paul Lahote. His father's a nice man." She notes and I look at her. "I approve."

"Oh, it's not going to go anywhere I don't think." I say dejectedly. "I'm too shy to pull any moves and he...hasn't pulled any moves."

"These kinds of things take time...love doesn't happen in the blink of an eye." She says and I smile at her. If only she knew. Sam and Emily's love kind of gives me hope...no one's imprinted on me though. "So, we're picking Quil up and he's riding with you."

"Yup." I say with an affirmative nod. "Otherwise I'd be scared to death." I continue and she nods. She knew that...we both know how much I hate highway slash interstate driving. She pulls into our driveway and we head inside. I tromp up the stairs and grab my last two bags. One being a duffel with clothes in it and the other my lap top bag. I head back downstairs where my mom has the rest of her things. We head out and load them into the trunk. Mom goes back and locks the door and then we get into the car, this time I'm driving. I head over to Quil's and beep the horn. He comes out and hops into the back seat.

"This is scary." He says and I throw my water bottle at him. "No antagonizing the driver." I say as I pull out of his drive way and head back over to Emily's. "I still can't get over this..."

"Emily's a very nice lady and Sam isn't so bad...he can be funny...I guess." I say begrudgingly and we get out of the car. I go to grab my bags and Quil gets most of them. "Awww, Quily Baby." I give him a quick hug before we head up to the door. I open it for Quil and he hesitates before entering. Mom goes through next and goes to the kitchen to talk with Emily. I lead Quil through confidently to the guest room and he sets the bags down on the bed. "Come on...it's okay." I say gently before taking his arm and dragging him back out to the living room.

"Jacob Nathaniel, Embry Ryan...don't you have something to say to Quil the Third?" I say, giving the two boys a look.

"We're sorry, man." They say in unison. I nod my approval and they let out a breath. As if they could be afraid of me...oh yeah, they are.

"It's alright, I guess." Quil says with a shrug. I can tell that he's uncomfortable. "Why aren't you guys coming with?"

"We've got...some things to do." Embry says and I know that they mean patrol. Well...Paul and Jared have patrol. Embry's going home to sleep and Jake's probably going to spend some time with Bella.

"Quil, it's nice to meet you." Emily says as she comes out of the kitchen with my mom. She offers him a handshake and he does.

"It's nice to meet you too." He says, putting on his nice guy smile. I pat his arm soothingly and encouragingly. Sam exits the kitchen and I hold my breath. "Hello Sam." He says, just to be polite.

"Quil." Sam nods and they shake hands. I release my breath. Sam then looks to me. "I had an extra key made." He says as he hands it to me. "Just in case no one's home when you get back."

"Thank you." I say. He really isn't that bad of a guy. I look to my mom who nods. "Well, we'd better get going. I'll see you guys later." I say, waving to everyone in the room. Kim and Jared walk in. "See you guys later." I repeat, waving to them.

"Be careful." Emily says, walking us to the door. "When you're on your way home...we're only a call a way if you need anything." She promises.

"Thank you, Emily." Mom says, and I can tell that she doesn't regret leaving me in her capable hands. We get into the car and I drive my mother to Seattle.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hey everyone! Welcome the chapter 6. Thank you so much for sticking with me even though I've been wonky with my updates. Please, please, please keep your faith in me though. I'm trying to spit out some stuff. This update is a bit shorter than usual (only 9 pages in Word), but a lot happens. Anyway, let me know what you think! Enjoy! :)_**

"No..." I say, my voice barely a whisper. I go back into the living room and sit down on the couch. Harry Clearwater can't be dead...how on...I shake my head, trying to make heads or tails of it. The door opens and Embry leads Seth in. I hop up and hug the younger boy. He starts crying and I lead him over to the couch and sit with him, holding him comfortingly.

"I've gotta get back out there." Embry says and I nod. He leaves and I continue to hold onto the younger boy. His tears on my neck punch me in the emotion and I feel tears start to fall from my eyes. Emily comes out of the kitchen, her purse over her shoulder and I nod to her.

"I just put dinner in the oven, could you take it out when the timer goes off?" She asks, her voice sounds just as shaky as I assume mine is.

"Yeah, no problem. I've got things covered here." I say gently, confirming my suspicion about my voice. She nods and leaves. Everyone agreed that Seth didn't need to be at home right now.

"I'm sorry Maria." He says, sounding absolutely miserable. I shake my head, hugging the boy tighter.

"You have no reason to be sorry." I say, my voice stronger. "You have no reason..." I repeat. All the memories of my father's death return to me and I receive another punch in the emotion. "Are you hungry?" I ask, my voice cracking with my effort of not crying as much as I want to. "I can cook now. I'm Betty freakin' Crocker." He shakes his head, but there's a small smile on his face. "I know that it doesn't seem like it now...but eventually it gets easier to deal with it...there isn't a day that goes by where I don't miss my father, but you have to focus on the people you still have in your life. You've got your mom, Leah...and you have me Seth. You were there when Jake and Embry were being nuggets. I count you in my top ten list." I say, intentionally going on a tangent to try and make him laugh again.

"I know...and I know I've gotta take care of Mom and Leah." He says and I nod and hug him again.

"They are so lucky to have you, Seth...you have so much love in your heart." I say and he sits back. "What's wrong?"

"I...feel funny." He says standing up. "I think I'm going to go outside and get some air." He says and I stand up with him.

"Alright, come on." I say, keeping an arm around him as we head out. It's a bit chilly, but I ignore it. "Why don't I go and get you a glass of water?" I say, looking at him.

"Thank you..." He says as he sits down on one of the steps. I look at him for a moment before heading inside and getting him the water. I hear a wolf sound and run back onto the porch. Seth's spot is empty and there are shredded clothes on the lawn. I drop the glass and run towards the forest.

"Seth!? Seth!" I yell as I run. "Seth! Where are you!?" I know panic is in my tone. "Seth!" I hear a howl and suppress my terror. They're the good guys. "Seth!" I see a wolf then and fall back on my butt. This is the first time...I stand up, shaking. "Seth?" I ask and he's shaking looking around like a scared puppy. "Hey...it's okay." I say as I carefully approach. "Hey..." I say gently. He's shaking as he sits down, looking around, terrified. "It's okay..." I say as I sit down on the ground in front of him. He lays down. "I'd make a dog joke, but I actually like you." I say and he sniffs, it sounds sort of like a laugh. "Just relax...I don't know if any of the other guys are in wolf form...but I know that they'll explain things to you if they aren't already. You're the good guys...Not that you could ever be evil..." He whimpers. "It's okay..." I whisper, scooting over to him and hugging him. No big deal Maria...it's just like hugging a big dog...like a fluffier Great Dane...or like a St. Bernard. They do help people, so I'll go with that...St. Bernard.

"Maria..." Paul's voice breaks through my thoughts and I turn around to look at him. "Are you hurt?" He asks, looking so worried.

"Does it look like I'm hurt? Come on, Paul, this is Seth we're talking about." I say and he whimpers again. I hug him. "Just ignore Paul, he's a nugget." A giant black wolf runs up. I can't help but scream and I kind of throw myself backwards, scooting away. "That's Sam, isn't it." I say and Paul comes over to me, practically picking me up.

"Yeah...come on. Sam's got it." He says, keeping an arm around my waist. I realize how weak on my feet I am.

"I can walk..." I say after a moment. My strength that was sapped from my shock returns to me and he almost reluctantly lets go. We return to Emily's and I see the glass. "Ah damn it." I say and stoop to pick up the glass.

"Maria, leave it. You're going to cut yourself. I'll get it." He says, but a moment too late. A piece of glass slice my hand. "God damn it." He growls, picking me up and taking me into the kitchen. "I told you to leave it."

"And who do you think you are? My mother?" I respond, not liking his tone. "Don't think you can tell me what to do."

"I told you that you would get hurt. You should have listened to me." He says, pissed off as he grabs the first aid kit and sets it down on the table next to where he sat me.

"You know what? Screw you. I'll take care of myself." I say as I grab the kit with my good hand and hop down off of the table. He grabs my wrist. "Paul..." I say, my voice not shaking with the fear I'm feeling. "Paul, let go of my wrist." I say and he doesn't. "Paul, you're hurting me." I say, the pain registering. He drops my wrist like something hot and gets an odd look on his face. I run for the guest room and shut the door, standing with my back pressed against it. I feel the tears running down my cheeks, but shake my head and take care of my hand. There's no glass in the wound...it just kind of got sliced open. My wrist is bruising though. I shake my head, wrap up my hand and change my shirt. I put on long sleeves and lock the door before sitting on the bed and hugging my knees to my chest. For the first time...I realize how truly strong they are. From what it looked like, Paul barely was holding my wrist. It looked like...I don't even know. They could squish me like a bug though. I hug my knees tighter to stop my shaking. I hear the timer go off and get up. Emily asked me to do one thing...I'm not some weak girl. I pick up the first aid kit with my good hand and head to the kitchen. I don't see Paul, but I can't really relax. I put the kit up and take the dish out of the oven. Lasagne tonight...good, I like Italian food. I grab the two cookie sheets that have the bread sticks on them and pop them in the oven. I set the timer and grab the broom and dust pan to finish cleaning up the glass. Upon reaching the door, I see that it's already done so I put them up and sit down on the couch, hugging my knees to my chest again to keep from shaking. Emily arrives back without my noticing.

"Maria." She says and my eyes focus on her. "What's the matter? Seth didn't hurt you when he changed, did he?" She asks and I shake my head. "What happened?"

"It's nothing...I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight. I'm exhausted." I say and she looks at me for a moment before nodding. "I put the bread sticks in...yeah." I say and then stand up.

"What happened to your hand?" She asks, taking my hand and examining the bandage job. I'm pretty good at it.

"I dropped a glass and cut my hand when I was cleaning it up. I'm sorry." I say, suppressing my wince as she touches my wrist.

"It's alright, accidents happen. Are you sure you don't want to eat something before you go to sleep?" She asks.

"No, I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning." I promise and head back to the bedroom. I pull back the covers and lay down without changing. I take off my glasses and put them on the nightstand before rolling over and trying to sleep. It's only seven-thirty...this is going to be a long night.

I'm woken up by the sound of the door banging open, the light flipping on, and my covers being pulled back. I sit up fast in panic and try to protest as someone takes my hand and yanks up my sleeve. I bite back my yelp of pain.

"Embry. Calm down." Sam demands, and I feel tears leap to my eyes in my confused state. "You're just upsetting her."

"I'm upsetting her?" Embry's tense voice says. He looks at me. "I'm upsetting her, Sam? Do you not see her wrist? I'm pretty sure it normally isn't black and blue."

"Just get out. I'm trying to sleep." I say, my voice breaking. I lay back down, hiding my face in the pillow. I'm not going to do this. I'm not afraid of them. They're the good guys.

"Sam, Embry. Why don't you two go and talk outside or in the living room?" Emily suggests as she enters and sits on the edge of the bed. She puts a hand on my shoulder. "Embry, go." She commands and I hear them leave and the door close. "No one else is here, sweetheart." She says gently and I can't help but start crying. What happened to me? I used to be such a strong person...I didn't cry over anything. I didn't even cry when I watched The Notebook for the first time.

"I've never been scared of anyone before." I cry into the pillow. "Embry's one of my best friends and when I looked at him, all I could see was how angry Paul had been." She rubs my back soothingly.

"I understand the fear...but I also know that deep down you aren't truly afraid of them." She says and I look at her. "The story is I was attacked by a bear, but that isn't the truth. The truth is...Sam got angry and I was too close and I was hurt." I feel horrible for being terrified over a bruise. "I was afraid, but I love him and I know that he loves me...so I suppose my love for him far surpassed my fear."

"It makes sense..." I say, more calm than I was. This is probably because I'm actually awake now. "I just...don't understand. What did I do to piss him off so bad? I mean...yeah he did call the me cutting my hand on glass thing, but I don't know why he had to go and get mad. I told him to not tell me what to do."

"Paul's always had a more difficult time controlling his anger, and everyone's a little on edge today." She says and I sit up. "You...didn't know he had a hard time with his anger?"

"I didn't..." I say, my voice just above a whisper. "I've spent a lot of time with him...how could I have missed that?" I shake my head. "He's always so nice to me..." I feel the tears welling up again. "Where's Seth?"

"He just fell asleep on the couch." She says and I look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. The blurry numbers look like three-thirty. I put my glasses on.

"Is he doing alright?" I ask, worried about him. I stand up and Emily follows me out of the room.

"He's just tired...and worried about Leah. We all are..." She says and I look at her. I give her a hug, this time being the comforting one.

"Emily...why don't you get some sleep? I know how to make the giant God muffins...so I can hold down the fort." I say and she looks at me for a moment. "Come on, Em, you look exhausted."

"Alright...only because I am tired...and I do trust that you can do it." She says and I give her another hug.

"Now get your tush to sleep, ma'am." I say and she smiles and goes to her and Sam's room. I go out to the living room and cover Seth up with a blanket. I then go to the kitchen and do what Emily does best...I start baking. I hear the door open and I go stand in the door way, with my hands on my hips.

"Where's Emily?" Sam asks in a hushed tone. He listens for a moment then looks at me incredulously. "How did you do it?"

"What? Get your stubborn ass fiance to go to sleep? I told her to." I say with a shrug and then I go back to the kitchen.

"How are you doing?" He asks me as he follows and goes to the fridge. I purse my lips as I take the muffin pan out of the oven.

"I'm fine now." I say, and I'm telling the truth. "My wrist hurts a little, but I'm not angry or afraid. My hand also hurts, but that's no one's fault but my own."

"You're more wise than what Embry leads those of us who don't know you as well to believe." He says as he pops some left over lasagne into the microwave.

"I guess that's why he and I never would have worked out romantically. I know he sees me as a kid who needs to be taken care of. Yeah he knows about my secret smarts, but I think he still sees the little girl who he beat up some kid for because he was making fun of me." I say as I take the muffins from the pan and put them on a plate. "I'm okay with that though...sometimes things need to change in order for things to get better."

"Your mother is right, you know more than you let on." He says as he sits down at the table. "The boys are on their way in...so I'd start on more muffins if I were you." He says and I smile and start baking again. After a moment Sam looks at me. "Incoming." I run to the front porch.

"If you value your lives you won't wake Seth and Emily. There are muffins in the kitchen, you may each have one and Sam gets first dibs since he's older than you. Do I make myself clear?" I say, and the four of them stare at me for a moment.

"Is this for real?" Jared asks and he listens for a moment. "I'm actually a little afraid right now...you look really serious."

"I am serious." I say, heading back inside. I hear them follow and they're quiet. We all go into the kitchen where Sam is washing his plate and fork. I hop up on the counter and then look at Embry. I hop off of the counter and hug him. "I'm sorry you got pissed off because Paul has anger issues and like you and Jake is an over protective ass hole." He stands there for a moment and then hugs me back.

"You put it like that and it makes it so we can't be mad at him." Embry says and I can't help but laugh. "How's your hand?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter. It was my right hand." I say, waving it in dismissal. "I have full use though."

"I'm sorry, Maria." Paul says, sounding sick with himself. I look to him and keep on my brave face.

"Paul, I accept your apology." I say and he looks relieved. "But, you can't keep getting mad. If you expect to keep me as a friend you're going to have to get used to the fact that I'm the physical manifestation of stubborn."

"I'll work on my anger if you promise to work on not being stubborn." He says and I put my hands on my hips. "Or I could just work on my anger." I nod. Sam grabs a muffin and the guys attack them.

"What's going on?" Seth asks as he stands in the doorway. I glare at the boys. "I'm starving..." I can't help but laugh then.

"Okay, Emily made lasagne for dinner earlier. I'll heat you up a slice, go ahead and sit down at the table." I say as I get to work doing that. I hear the sound of someone getting smacked on the back of the head and a growl. I turn around giving them a look. "Really? We're fighting...why?"

"Embry got mad because Paul was checking you out." Seth says with a yawn and the two glare at him.

"Hey, don't you dare glare at Sethy. He's on a better standing with me than either of you." I say, pointing the fork in my hand at them. "He's my favorite." I don't really know why I'm so protective over him right now...it could be because I feel a certain connection. Yeah, he is older than I was when I lost my father, but none the less...they both had medical issues.

"Yeah, just because he's young." Embry says and I grab a potato that was sitting on the counter and throw it at him. He catches it. "Hey, that would have kind of hurt if I hadn't caught it."

"That's the point." I say as I turn around and take Seth's lasagne out of the microwave and set it down in front of him. I grab my last bottle of Yoohoo and set it down in front of him. "Jake...what's wrong?"

"Bella went to go after her blood sucker." He spits and I sit down next to him and rub his shoulder.

"If you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you it was meant to be...if not...they're nuggets." I say and he looks at me for a moment before cracking a very small smile.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how the quote goes...but thanks Mar-Mar." He says as he ruffles my hair. "It still really sucks."

"Hell yeah it does...but maybe you'll actually sleep now." I say and he rolls his eyes at me. "Jacob Nathaniel, I will so kick your ass."

"Sure sure." He says and I roll my eyes. Embry throws the potato I threw at him at Jake. I giggle.

"Hey Maria, can I watch Supernatural with you later?" Seth asks as he finishes up his dinner. I smile and take the plate to the sink.

"As long as you're prepared to see me mourn the death of the love of my life...sure." I say as I set up the dishes.

"Maria, let Paul do the dishes. You shouldn't with your hand like that." Sam says and Paul goes over to the sink.

"Alright, I have no issues with that. I hate doing dishes." I say as I sit on the counter. He watches me for a second before starting the dishes.

"So...you've seen the entire series of Supernatural up to date...and you still re-watch the old episodes?" He asks and I shrug.

"When you love someone enough, you watch his triumphs and failures as many times as you can stand...and I haven't reached my limit yet. The end of season three holds the worst day in Supernatural history." I say and matter of factly.

"And why's that?" Paul asks and I give him the 'really?' look. "What? I really don't know...tell me."

"It's the day that Dean goes to Hell...if Sammy hadn't been a nugget and been trusting he wouldn't have gotten himself killed and Dean wouldn't have had to sell his soul to that whore of a crossroads demon." I say, hugging my knees to my chest again. "I understand though...I would do the same for my brothers."

"Good thing we'll never give you the opportunity to do that then." Embry says and I offer him a small smile. "Quick question...do you really believe in demons now?"

"Well...not really in the sense of say Ruby, Meg, and Crowley...but yeah. I mean, my best friends are fluff nuggets." I say with a shrug. "Anyway, personal demons. That's what I'm talking about. Giving a face to your problems to help you overcome it." Sam just shakes his head. "Do I continue to blow your mind with my philosophical side?"

"Kind of. Almost literally everyone all over the reservation knows you for being...eccentric." Sam says and I laugh.

"What you call eccentric some call crazy. I accept it as a compliment. I'd rather be known as 'that one freakin' weird person' than a questionable soiled dove type." I say and Jared cocks his head to the side.

"What's a soiled dove?" He asks and I grin and sit cross legged on the counter. "Why do I have this feeling of dread?"

"Shut up, you sound like Quil. Anyway, a soiled dove is a prostitute." I say, explaining the term I had heard on _Ghost Adventures_. "That's what the guy who runs the Bird Cage Theatre called them on _Ghost Adventures_." I think for a moment. "Jake! Embry!" I whisper scream.

"Mar...I know what you're going to say and no, we will not go ghost hunting with you." Embry says and I make myself tear up. Just because I never used to cry in the past doesn't mean I couldn't cry on command. "Don't you do that. I know you're faking it."

"'Kay." I say using my soft 'defeated' voice and wiping my eye. Paul turns around and glares at Embry. "It's okay Paul...I understand that he doesn't have time for me anymore. All I can hope is that Margo gets home soon. Me, her, and Quil will have to go ghost hunting together."

"You so aren't fair." Embry says, shaking his head. "Don't fall for it Paul. She's counting on the fact that you will. We all used to fall for it, but now we're trained against it." Jake smacks him on the back of the head.

"Don't tell me your going to start using dog humor again to get on her good side." He says and Jared and Sam laugh.

"You should have heard them the other day Sam, it was crazy. Then they tried to tickle me, and Embry almost crushed me. Then Paul did tickle me...and I kicked Embry in the face." I say and they all laugh. My cell phone then rings. I answer it and hold it away as screaming occurs. "Okay...either you're home or you're taunting me about the Floridian boys."

"Both!" Margo exclaims and I fall off the counter. "Did you just fall off a kitchen counter?" She asks and I laugh at her psychic-ness.

"Yes, but that's not the point." I stand up and head outside. "Anyway...we need to talk big time. Little Viper's having a very tough time right now and Rattlesnake is...ugh. He's been doing renovations all week and for the most part I was dying of boredom. However, I'm friends with Princess and Sprinkles again. Also, I ordered your birthday present...I think that about covers everything you've missed except for the fact that I have my license now and my mom is in Virginia."

"We've got a lot to talk about." She agrees. "We can talk tomorrow though. I'm exhausted. I just wanted to let you know I was home. I'm so glad that you're happy now...I've been worried about you this entire time." She says and I feel a sense of warmness.

"Love ya, wifey." I say. "You better have been kidding about the gift by the way...or else." I say and hear her laugh.

"We'll see. Love you too, wifey. Night!" She exclaims and then we hang up. I smile and head back inside.

"Where did you find this clone of yourself?" Embry asks and I shrug. "So, you say she just randomly moved in next door?"

"She's Mrs. Wright's granddaughter. They lived in Indiana because her mom's mom was in poor health, but she kicked le bucket so they moved here. Ugh. Mrs. Wright said that Quil and I were gonna get married. I mean...yeah I guess he could be conditioned to be less of a nugget, but I'd only marry him if I were desperate to get married." I say and everyone but Paul laughs. "I don't know if I'd curse children to be so nugget-y though. I mean, they already have my genes...so that makes them sexy and demigods in Mariaism."

"Oh yeah, the religion you were telling Paul about." Embry says and Jake laughs. "I didn't know we practiced of it."

"Embry baby, you have always practiced Mariaism." I say and he just rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "So...what are we all doing in? Doesn't someone have to be on patrol like all the time?"

"Me and Jared are heading out soon." Embry says, sounding kind of odd. "When the muffins are done you should try and get some more sleep."

"I slept for eight hours before you woke me up. I'm okay for now." I say, hating my sloth like behavior. He gives me a look. "I promise that if I get tired, I will go to sleep."

"Oh, you will. Seth will make sure of that." He says and I pout. "Do you really think pouting is attractive?"

"When I actually have make up on, yes." I say with a shrug. "Most of the time no...but it seems to get the point across that I'm not pleased."

"Yeah Embry, quit being a nugget." Paul says and I clap, proud of his use of 'nugget'. He's a rookie still, but he's on his way. The timer goes off and I grab the pan out of the oven and restock the plate. This time I take a muffin and let Paul wash the rest of the dishes. "Did you eat anything before you went to sleep?" He asks all of a sudden.

"Yes." I say, but none of them buys it. I receive a look from everyone in the room. "I'm eating a muffin now, aren't I?"

"And you wonder why you have such a bright future in being a xylophone player." Jake says, using my own humor against me. "Eat some lasagne."

"I do what I want." I say biting into the muffin. I give it the 'not bad' face. "Plus I've gained like five pounds since I started hanging out here. Anyway, isn't that what the Constitution is about? Freedom? The white people had a pretty good idea...now if only they weren't nuggets."

"That sounds so racist." Embry says, chuckling. I chuck another potato at him and this time I beam him right in the head. "Ow."

"I'm not a racist. Dean Winchester's white. Robert Downy Jr. is white. I love them. And Ha!" I say, pointing at Embry. "I knew I'd get past your defenses one day!"

"Lucky shot." He grumbles, taking both of the potatoes and setting them back where they belong.

"I'm surprised that it wasn't mashed when it hit your head." I say, putting my hands on my hips. "Anyway, Seth, I'm probably going to turn on Supernatural now."

"Alright." He says, sounding more and more like his old self. He does seem like the kind of person who can cope with a smile on his face.

"So, I assume you, you, and you are going to get some sleep?" I ask, looking at Jake, Sam, and Paul.

"Yeah...I'm going to head home. Night Mar." Jake says as he walks over and hugs me...almost like he's afraid of losing me.

"Sleep tight, Jakey." I say squeezing him to assure him of my whereabouts. I'm not the one who abandoned him. "Oh, and if you don't sleep...I will come over, tie you to the bed, and chloroform your ass."

"That sounds a bit too kinky." Jared says as he stands up and stretches. "Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and head out."

"Yeah, me too." Embry says as he takes his turn giving me a hug. "Quick question...where would you get the chloroform?" I just give him my creeper smile.

"Goodnight, Embry." I say as I pat his head. He ruffles my hair before he and Jared head out. I feel anxiety starting to creep up so I finish my muffin. "Sleepy nuggets, goodnight." I say as I take Seth's arm and we go into the living room. "Wait here and I'll go and get it." I say as I head back to the guest room and grab the season three box set. When I get back out to the living room, Sam is heading back to he and Emily's room and Paul is sitting on the couch. "You're not going to sleep?" I ask, looking kind of worried.

"My dad's out of town, so I thought I'd hang out with you guys for a while." He says and I shrug. I put in the disk I'm on and hit play and sit down. Seth plops down on my other side and I pull my knees to my chest. "I'm gonna get some ice for your wrist." He says as he gets up. I just nod and when he comes back, I let him take my arm and hold the ice to the bruises.

I wake up to two people snoring. Directly, I see Seth sleeping with his head on my lap. I feel a warm arm around my shoulders too. The gray morning light is filtering through the windows. So I know that it's morning. Despite not having a blanket, I'm burning up. I'm suddenly aware of a camera phone taking a picture. I see the retreating form of Emily, but Paul (in his sleep) entraps me in his arms.

"Not again." I grumble, trying to not wake Seth up. "Damn it, Paul." I say, trying to shake him. He tightens his arms around me. "I know you're awake now."

"Yeah, but I can pretend for another minute or so. You're comfy." He says, causing me to blush. Damn this boy-man-wolf-thing.

"Sorry, but I'm not especially cuddly. I imagine one should save that for her boyfriend. Kinda like sex, I guess." I say and he laughs.

"What if I wanted to be your boyfriend?" He asks and I feel my heart skip a beat or two...I think technically I should be dead right now.

"I'm sorry?" I ask, unable to keep the shock slash concern out of my tone. He wants to be my boyfriend?

"Calm down, I said 'what if'." He says, releasing me and getting up. Now I feel like crying, well damn. Seth squints and then opens his eyes.

"Good morning, did you sleep alright?" I ask and he jumps up, almost like he's scared. Then he plays it cool.

"Yeah, thanks." He says with a smile. "I'm starving." He says as he gets up and goes to the kitchen.

"Hey...you okay?" Paul asks me and I look up at him. His eyes soften when they meet mine, making me curious.

"I guess I'm just tired." I say, going to the best lame excuse of all time. "I may go back to sleep."

"After you eat some breakfast." Emily says as she stands in the doorway. "Come on, kiddo." She says and I begrudgingly get up. "Go ahead, I have to talk to Paul about something." I walk into the kitchen where Seth hands me a plate of pancakes and I sit down at the table and drown them in syrup before eating.

"So what are they talking about?" I whisper very softly. Seth just looks at me for a moment. "Come on, Seth, you know I'm nosy." He sits down next to me.

"It's something about you...and if he isn't going to be serious to stop pretending." He says and then he shakes his head. "I should go home..." He says and I give him a hug.

"If you need me at all, Sethy...just call." I say and he offers me a smile. He then leaves me alone in the kitchen and I look around. I finish my pancakes and then put the plate in the sink.

"Time to change your bandage." Paul says as he walks in and gets the first aid kit out. He makes me sit down at the table and he pulls up my sleeve. He winces slightly at the sight of the bruises and I become defiant. I pull back my hand.

"You're not allowed to help me until you tell me why you wince anytime you see any injury on me...or you freak out anytime I get hurt at all, even if I'm just playing around." I say as I cradle my hand against my chest. I keep my best defiant face on. He sighs and sits down.

"It's really complicated...I wish that you would just take my word for it." He says and I keep my defiant look. "Really Maria, you don't want to know."

"Yeah, I kinda do. You're worse than most of the girls I know when they're PMS-ing." I say, totally serious but he laughs. "I'm not kidding right now."

"That's why it's so funny. Look...when things aren't so weird, I'll tell you. Okay?" He asks and I watch him. "I'll tell you one thing...any of us gets anxious when someone gets hurt."

"Okay." I say, just barely accepting this. I give him back my hand and he changes the bandage. I look at it...it looks a bit worse today. "This didn't seem so awful last night."

"It looks a little infected. Did you clean it with alcohol?" He asks and I try to pull my hand back. He keeps it. "I'll take that as a no. Maria...you'll be the death of me."

"I should hope not. That would be wimpy. I'm a scrawny human and you're...well you're a fluff nugget." I say, attempting to sweet talk him. "Come on, it's not **that** bad."

"It's going to get worse if you don't clean it properly. I promise it'll only hurt for a second." He says as he starts cleaning it.

"Holy mother of fucks!" I exclaim, biting my lip and attempting to keep my hand still. My pain tolerance threshold isn't high...at all. He finishes and then puts antibiotic ointment on it before he bandages it.

"I'm sorry." He says, looking to be pained as well. I pat his hand that still has my bad hand with my good hand.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll never admit it, but I can be a sissy when it comes to pain stuff." I say and then glare at myself. "Damn it. That wasn't me admitting to it." He stands up and goes to the sink and washes his hands. Jake then walks in, and I can see his pain in his eyes so I get up and I hug him. He just stands there. "Jake, just let someone comfort you...and I'm pretty sure you don't want Paul hugging you, so just accept my love." I say and he hugs me.

"Okay...but I'm not really sad." He says and I look up at him. "I'm not, I'm pissed off." He says and I roll my eyes.

"Look, I know the way this goes buddy. Friend leaves and then person gets all sad and then they get a burning rage that makes them want to slaughter the object of the rage." I say, referencing my own feelings. "I'm not going to lie. I considered breaking into your house and beating you to a pulp with Guadeloupe while you slept.

"I know, that's why the window's booby trapped." He says and I gape at him, like a fish. "Hey, I want to have kids some day."

"Good luck finding a contender, nugget." I say as I let go of him and go back to the table. "The nerve of that guy..." I grumble, shaking my head. "Hey Paul...I don't want to sound rude...but do you ever go home?"

"Yeah." He laughs. "Everyone spends most of their time here, though." He says and I groan. "What?"

"I have to see Embry's ugly mug all the time then." I say and he and Jake laugh. "Anyway, today on the agenda is going to see Margo and Quil and then Billy." I say with an affirmative nod. "So, I'm going to go and get ready. You try to control yourself." I say as I point to Paul. "I know my friends are sexy and all, but Jake's more straight than Embry...and he may be vulnerable right now, but that's no excuse to take advantage of him." I head to my room and grab some clothes before I grab my bag that has my shampoo and stuff in it and go to the bathroom. I turn on the water and wait for it to warm up. I look in the mirror at myself and run my fingers through my hair. I do kind of miss my long hair...I shake my head and then test the water again. Perfect. I take off my clothes and grab the towel off the top shelf when the door opens. I scream bloody murder and I hear the door slam.

"Paul!" I hear someone yell and then there's a scuffle and then it's quiet. I hear snarling outside and I sit in the middle of the floor, shaking with the towel covering me.

"Maria?" Emily asks softly, knocking on the door. I can't force myself to move...I don't even understand what just happened. The door opens and she comes in. "Come on." She says as she helps me up off of the ground. "Take your shower, okay?" She says and I nod. She leaves the bathroom, and I step into the shower. As the water works the tension out of my shoulders, I sing the song that's stuck in my head. Cell Block Tango, from Chicago. Most people think that I'm just a crazy lady obsessed with one show...no. I enjoy some musicals too. As I finish up the usual rituals involved in showering I shut off the water, dry myself, and then get dressed. I brush through my hair before pitching my towel into the hamper. I take my old clothes with me and put them in the hamper I brought with me from home. I'll do my own laundry. I enter the kitchen where the tension is high.

"Okay, something's going on and I'm not speaking to any of my nuggets outside of this until I'm told what." I say, using my no nonsense tone. "There's something about me that makes people tense. I can't live here peacefully if I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"It's nothing that you're doing wrong." Jake says fiercely. "Ask Paul what's going on, oh wait. He's too scared to tell you." Paul lunges at him.

"No!" I scream, throwing myself in front of Jake. I try to relax my body, preparing for any pain, with my eyes squeezed shut. I open my eyes after nothing happens and see Paul standing there, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Never. Do. That. Again." He grinds out through his teeth. My defiance creeps up then. Who is he to tell me what to do? My hands curl into fists.

"You know what, Paul?" I ask, and he looks at me. I see some of his rage dissipate. "I'm not speaking to you until you can learn to not try to kill my friends every five minutes or you can man up and tell me what the hell is going on!" I say the words with finality. I mean it to. I'm not going to talk to him. For some reason...that hurts me. He stands there, frozen. I let my rage carry me to my room. Maybe he will learn from this. I just have to be strong.


	7. Chapter 7

_** Hey guys! So sorry for the delay...senior year and such. Senioritis is kicking my butt big time! This chapter is a bit shorter just because I've been busy with an original story I'm writing and school things. I don't think I'm totally satisfied with it...but let me know what you think! Again, sorry for the delay, but I've only got less than two months...THEN I'M OUT OF THERE! And onto college...oh boy. Anyway, I'll leave you be so you can read, but yeah...ENJOY!**_

"Sooooooo..." I say, frowning deeply as I lay on Margo's bed. "I have problems." I say and she looks at me.

"What sort of problems, my love?" She asks, looking away from her magazine and at me. She gets up and sits down next to me.

"So...I sort of maybe like Paul." I a dmit out loud for the first time. She looks like she's about to scream. "But, he's hiding something from me and I told him I wasn't going to speak to him until he mans up enough to tell me...and it has been like a week."

"Why did you wait this long to tell me!?" She shrieks and I look ashamed. Her look softens. "So you miss him now?" She asks and I nod. She smiles. "Well darling...either you hold true to your word or we kill him."

"I knew you were my friend for a reason." I say, laughing. "It's just hard, because he's always at Emily's."

"Well, you blatantly ignore him, right?" She asks and I nod. "Okay...and has he tried to talk to you?" I nod again. "You won't even look at him though, right?" I nod for a third time. "You're doing all that you can, darling." She says, patting my hair.

"I know...I just don't understand how he can stand it. He'll sit there and stare at me like a dang puppy. He's even started doing it in class!" I exclaim, hiding my face.

"Get Rattlesnake to do something about it." She says simply. "Or...we could start dressing you all sexy like."

"But I'm not all sexy like, Puffin." I say and she smacks my arm. "Ow! Hey! What was that for?" I ask, rubbing my arm. I sit up.

"You, Maria, used to boast about your complete and utter sexiness. What happened?" She asks and I frown.

"I just don't feel pretty anymore." I say with a sigh. "Yeah...I'm as skinny as any super model wants to be, but I'm just not happy. I miss my mom...I'm sad about Seth's dad...and I just want to know what the heck is going on with Paul."

"Well...we'll get it out of him. Let's plan your outfit now." She says, grabbing a notepad off of her night stand. "Okay...your new skinny jeans...with those one black heels Quil said made you look like a...yeah. Uh...and...hmm." She gets up and goes over to her closet and pulls out a shirt. It's really pretty...it's a peach colored shirt that would definitely look hot on me. I stroke my chin.

"Hmm...okay." I say, being agreeable for once in my life. I look at my cell phone then. "I've gotta go, Puffin. I promised Emily I would help her with dinner." I say as I stand up and pull on my boots.

"Alright, we'll talk later about your make up." She says as she tosses the shirt to me. I slip on my jacket and give her a hug.

"Will do! Ducky out!" I say as I head out of her room. "Bye mom number 4!" I wave as I walk past the living room and I hear her chuckle. I get into my car.

"Hey." Embry says, popping up in the back seat. I scream and throw my purse at him. I hear something hard connect with his face. "Uhm, ouch." He says and I glare at him as I buckle my seat belt.

"What do you want, boy?" I ask, starting the car. I begin driving and he makes his way into the passenger seat.

"I came to talk to you...one on one." He says, buckling his seat belt after a long look from me. "You seem tense, what's wrong?"

"You're an idiot...you hid in my backseat when you could've just called me or something. Margo and I were just chilling." I say and he shrugs.

"I know that sometimes you need to be with other girls to talk about girly things like feelings and your..." I glare at him so he stops. "Finger nails. I was going to say finger nails. Anyway...I'm here to talk to you about Paul." He says and I pull off to the side of the road. "Look, if you're going to attempt to kill me...you better have a damn good weapon because it takes a lot to even really hurt me."

"I'm not going to kill you...yet. I assume he asked you to speak with me." I guess and he gets that look on his face when he doesn't want to lie, but he also doesn't want to tell me the truth. "Okay, I know that's true, so go on." I say, putting the car in park and turning it off.

"Okay...so...he didn't want me to say it in these words, but there really isn't another way to say it. He's scared shitless of you." He says and I purse my lips. Normally I would say that this is a good thing, but in this case...it's different. "He knows that you're upset with him, because obviously you told him that. Now I don't personally know the feeling, but there is something different about you for him."

"Well, I figured that much out." I say and he gawks at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, raising my eyebrow.

"You figured out that he imprinted on you?" He asks and I feel my eyes go wide. "Shit!" He exclaims, slapping his hands over his mouth. "God damn it, Maria." He massages his temples.

"You're the one who freaking let the dog out of the bag!" I exclaim, and then I sit there dumbfounded. "So...he likes me?" Embry gives me a look. "What!? I'm still kind of new to this whole wolf idea, Em." I say, and his look becomes sympathetic and he wraps an arm around me in a hug. I put my hand over his and shrug my shoulders in a motion that I consider a one armed hug...in this situation.

"And you're down on yourself. Man, this is just a sucky month for people." He says and I give him my no kidding look. Then I raise an eyebrow at him. "I heard you say that you don't feel pretty anymore." I feel the frown form on my face, causing a wrinkle in my forehead. "Mar...you're my best friend...but I'm not saying this just because you are. You're a pretty girl. Not just superficially. Your personality is a big part of it."

"I'm all personality." I agree with a nod. "I don't know Em...it's just. Since I stopped liking you...and Paul's been all confusing...it kind of hurts. I always get these weird butterflies in my stomach and I'm not used to that. I hate it. He'll act like he likes me one second and then the next he's pretty much friend zoning me. I don't feel pretty at all, and I miss my mom...losing Seth's dad is kind of hard too. Then you guys are all changing...everything I know is either going to hell in a hand basket or changing so much I don't even recognize it." I run a hand through his short hair. "I miss your hair...and Jake's hair. I miss having Jake to give me a hug and say everything's gonna be okay. I miss teasing you about your lack of beefiness. I miss how things used to be. It was confusing, but not as bad as things are now." I say, and the tears fill my eyes. "I was less emotional too." I add, wiping them away.

"I miss things too, Mar." He says gently. "We only cut our hair because the longer our hair is in this form, the longer our fur is." He explains and I can't help but laugh.

"If you grow out your hair, I promise I'll brush your fur and pick leaves out of it." I offer and he shakes his head. "Come on, you'll look like the shaggy dog and it would be great."

"Mar...it's easier to move with short hair." He says and I sigh, giving him. "Quil's probably going to change any time now..."

"I figured as much..." I say with another sigh. "I just miss how we all used to be. Quoting my favorite movies and stuff...singing and stuff together."

"Things will get easier when Quil changes, but they'll still be a little difficult." He says and I nod. "Paul really hates you being mad at him. It's kind of making it hard on the rest of us."

"When he's man enough to tell me...then I'll consider speaking to him. I'm sick and tired of him almost killing you though. It's not like you're the one who accidentally saw me naked." I say and he looks away. "What?!" I shriek.

"It was an accident!" He exclaims, moving as far away as the car will allow. "It's not like I meant to see you! I didn't even know you were naked! It's your fault for not locking the door!" He's holding his hands up as shields.

"I can't believe you!" I yell, totally embarrassed. My cheeks are hot and I can't look at him. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at him again. I start the car again, and begin driving. At least it's something to do. "After all these years..." I mutter and he laughs. "Shut up." I bark and he barely stops. "What are my chances of just going to bed when we get to Emily's?"

"Slim to none, I'd say." He says and we lapse into silence. "You know...you're right about the xylophone player."

"Call, you're a cruisin' for a bruisin'." I say in a threatening tone. "I may not be speaking to Paul, but Jared will no doubt be on my side. Not to mention Jake if he's there. He said he might let me have Guadalupe back, too."

"I had to make a comment. All these years of you being difficult and refusing to change in front of me, but not caring when it was Jake or Quil." He says and I roll my eyes.

"That's because I liked you, and it was awkward for me. Jake and Quil are my n-double g-b-fs." I say and he looks confused. "Not gay-gay best friends. It means that their opinions on clothes and bras and stuff are appropriate and I won't make fun of them for offering advice on girl matters. You're on your way to that level. I mean, you've already seen me naked and that's more than anyone."

"It really was an accident." He says and I nod, accepting this. "Am I forgiven?" He asks as I pull into my newly designated parking spot at Emily's. I shut off the car.

"Yes...only because I'm still confident that you're gay." I say as I grab my purse and get out. I fold the shirt neatly over my arm. "Is he..."

"Here? Not yet, but I can hear him in the woods. So he should be soon." He supplies the information and I nod. We head inside.

"Emily, I'm back." I say with a smile as I walk into the kitchen. She looks up from whatever she's cooking and smiles at me.

"Alright, great. After you set your stuff down, could you help me finish up dinner?" She asks and I nod. "Oh, and I finished up your laundry for you." She says and I feel my face fall into a half-hearted 'look'.

"Emily, you don't have to do my laundry. I do laundry all the time at home anyway." I say as I walk back to my room and toss my stuff onto my bed. There's a bouquet of flowers. I ignore it and go back to the kitchen. "It's cooking that I wasn't really allowed to do. Definitely not when I was home alone, which was never. Quil only decides to have a life in bad situations. Taking care of me is a full time job. Jake will tell you all about it."

"She needs chap stick, food, reminded to eat, reminded to drink stuff. That reminds me, let me see your hands." Embry says as he grabs my hand. At that moment, Paul walks through the door. I ignore him. "Drink some water...dork." I roll my eyes at him. "Not my fault your mom has us check on you. She still texts me to this day. 'Please make sure that Mar-mar doesn't get dehydrated again'. It isn't good for you..."

"Yeah, yeah. You're almost as bad as my mom when it comes to worrying nowadays." I say as I go to the fridge and grab a bottle of water. "Not my fault things like hunger and thirst don't register on my mind unless I really think about it." I say before taking a drink.

"Maria." Paul says, but I ignore him. I walk over to Emily and she shows me what she wants me to do. "Maria...please look at me." He says and I tuck my hair behind my ears before washing my hands in the sink. I'm testing his patience. If he can't keep his head when I'm ignoring him, he can't possibly do it when I'm talking to him. He walks over and stands next to me, I keep my eyes focused on what I'm doing. The wound on my hand has been healing rather nicely. I definitely need some lotion though, my hands are so dry.

"Paul...don't push her." Embry warns, he knows all too well what can happen when I'm pushed. "She gets very irrational."

"Embry, you shouldn't talk to your other personalities like that. People will think you're crazy and lock you up. Maybe we can get rooms next to each other at the asylum. Mom says that my room is already reserved." I say and Emily chuckles.

"This probably won't work." Paul says with a sigh that lets me know he's struggling to keep his temper. "Embry...could you tell her that I would like to talk to her about something."

"Paul...she's not in the greatest mood today. I'd leave her be for now." Embry suggests and Paul looks at him. He sighs and leaves the kitchen. I hear the front door open and close. I look at Emily.

"Go on...Embry can help me." She says with a smile. I hug her and then run outside. I look around.

"Paul!?" I yell, looking around. I didn't hear his truck start...so he must have gone wolf. I frown. "Paul?" I say, my voice showing my disappointment. I start towards the forest. "Get your fluffy butt back here so I can talk to you!"

"He's too far away to hear you." Seth says as he walks over to me. "If you want...I can change at tell him to come back."

"Thanks Seth." I say, giving him a hug. He smiles and takes off his shirt. "Alright, I'll be over there." I say, walking away to let him get naked. I wrap my arms around myself. I should have grabbed my coat before I came out here. How was I supposed to know that it was cold? Okay...so maybe I'm just an idiot.

"Seth said you wanted to talk to me?" Paul says, leaning against a tree. He sounds really cocky. I turn around, rubbing my arms one last time before I stand there looking at him, arms at my sides.

"If you're going to be a jerk about it, I can go inside and continue to ignore you." I say, and he stands up straight. "Interesting."

"What?" He asks and I shrug. "Okay...so there's something I need to tell you." I nod and he walks over. "Why don't we go for a drive or something? You look cold."

"Okay." I say and we start walking. "I should say though...I am sort of afraid of you." I add after a beat. "I mean, it'd be stupid not to be. You're very angry...and I've seen what happened to Emily...and she isn't even annoying."

"You're not annoying." He says, looking at me. I must have hurt his feelings by saying that I was afraid.

"Thank you, but I know I'm annoying." I say, and then I look up at him. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I have to be honest."

"I know that...and you're right to be afraid of me. I hurt you." He says and I shake my head. He looks confused.

"It was a misunderstanding...I understand now. I know why you got angry. You warned me against picking up the glass, and I sliced my hand. Then you became angry because I got hurt, and then angry again because I wouldn't let you take care of me. Then you were sick with yourself because you bruised the crap out of my wrist." I say, looking up at him. "Then, you pissed me off because you probably tried to kill Embry, and then Jake. Now, I spent most of my life attempting to keep to keep Embry from seeing me even relatively naked and that all blew up in my face. I can't be mad at him. I know you were probably hoping to be the first person to see me naked." I say and he looks like he's about to deny it. "If you deny it, I'm going to ask one of my brothers to tell me the truth about your thoughts." He groans. "It's okay...now, what I'm curious is why." He opens the passenger door to his truck and I get in. He goes around and gets in and starts it, turning the heat on full blast.

"Funny story behind that." He says and I look at him, giving him my full attention. We're driving now. "You sure you wanna know?"

"Well, things are a little less complicated now. The ginger vamp from hell is...nowhere to be found. Jake is brooding, but things are relatively calm. Sure...the Cullens may be coming back, but I don't think that they'll be a problem for us. My intuition is usually correct, by the way." I say and I notice how he tenses up. "Maria, I respectfully disagree with your statement about those reeking blood sucking leeches." I use my manly voice.

"Not bad." He chuckles. "Things are a little more calm now...and you're speaking to me finally." He says, like it's been more than just a week. "Okay...I'm really not used to stuff like this." He says and I raise my eyebrow at him. "Okay, you know what imprinting is." He confirms and I nod, just to humor him sort of. "Okay...so I imprinted on you." He says and I act surprised. My jaw drops and I turn my in my seat to look at him.

"Okay, so let me get this straight." I say, doing a nice job of acting. "You...are in love with me due to some magic wolf thing?"

"Well...yeah." He says and I nod. My mind really hasn't had the opportunity to wrap itself around this concept, but I've already accepted the fact that I rather appreciate him. "So...that's it. That's why I've been acting so weird around you. I love you, Maria. I know that I barely know you, but I can't help it. I want to be there for you always...I want to protect you." I feel my eyes go wide.

"I've never heard that phrase in the sense that you mean." I say, my heart about ready to be out of my chest. "The 'I love you' part." I add for clarification. "I mean...I don't not love you, but I'm unfamiliar with the feeling for real...so I..."

"I understand...and we can start off...as friends...if that's what you want." He says, and he actually seems like he'd be okay with that.

"That isn't what I was saying. I really like you, Paul. I just love my brothers, and I can't have you going all Hulk on them all the time. I kind of need them to have the will to live...and I gain weight when I'm with then." I say and he smiles.

"I guess we have to keep them around then." He says, smirking. I roll my eyes. "So...are we seeing each other?"

"Obviously...I'm not blind." I say with a smirk. "I don't know, though. You didn't ask me out." I say, crossing my arms across my chest. "I'm no specialist in that department, but it doesn't seem right."

"Alright...Maria will you.." He starts, but he's cut off by my cell phone ringing. "Change your ring tone? That's just degrading. Who Let the Dogs Out? Really?"

"Excuse me, this was my ring tone before I even knew you." I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket and answering. "Hello?"

"I know that you're busy and everything, but Quil just phased." Embry says and if I were white, my face would have just gotten really pale.

"What the heck!?" I exclaim. "Are you guys all changing at once, or what? Am I going to sprout a tail?"

"Uh...no." Paul says as he turns around. "Tell him we're on our way." He says and I open my mouth to tell him.

"I heard him, but anyway. I think you should come back. He's oddly excited about being a wolf, and you need to put him in his place."

"I can do that." I say, nodding to myself. "How dare he want to escape me by being a wolf." Embry chuckles.

"Alright, you're back to normal. I assume you worked things out." He says and I laugh. "Okay, that's a yes. Well, Embry out."

"Right, Princess." I say and then hang up before he can question me. "What a sap." I say, placing my phone back in my pocket. I know I can't keep the worry off of my face though.

"Hey, he'll be alright. Embry said that he was excited about it..." Paul says, attempting to comfort me. If that's what I was worried about, then that would be very comforting.

"You're right...thanks Paul." I say, flashing him my award winning smile. He turns to putty. That was easier than I thought it would be. "Let's go!" This all seems like it's going especially crazy. Should so many of them be changing? What the heck is with this sense of dread washing over me? Shouldn't I be happy? Well...when have I ever been really happy in the past couple of months?


End file.
